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THE  FIRST  HALF  CENTURY 


of 


ST.   IGNATIUS  CHURCH  AND  COLLEGE 


by 


JOSEPH  W.  RIORDAN,  S.  J. 


San    Francisco,    Cal. 
1905 


93  A  ■  S 


H.  S.  Crocker  Company 
San  Francisco 


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CONTENTS 

C&<3 

PAGE 

Introduction 5 

CHAPTER   I 
The  Coming  of  the  Jesuits  to  San  Francisco 1 1 

CHAPTER   II 
The  College  at  Mission  Dolores 45 

CHAPTER   III 
Beginnings,  1855 — 1862 69 

CHAPTER   IV 
Development,  1862 — 1878 in 

CHAPTER   V 

Completion,  1878— 1895 215 

Conclusion  3^5 

Appendices 3^7 


INTRODUCTION. 


Although  the  first  two  chapters  of  the  present  volume  cannot 
be  considered  as  strictly  forming  part  of  the  history  of  St. 
Ignatius  College  in  the  fifty  years  of  its  trials  and  successes,  since 
both  chapters  treat  of  matters  that  antedate  this  period,  no  doubt 
is  entertained  that  the  indulgent  reader  will  welcome  their  inser- 
tion. For,  apart  from  any  interest  that  they  may  have  for  those 
to  whom  any  scrap  of  California's  early  doings  is  a  source  of 
sincerest  pleasure,  they  serve  to  light  up  the  history  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus  in  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  establishment  of 
St.  Ignatius ;  the  former  of  the  chapters  setting  forth  the  manner 
in  which  the  Jesuits  acquired  a  home  in  the  Archdiocese;  the 
latter,  giving  an  account  of  the  first  Jesuit  College  in  our  city, 
the  weak  and  short-lived  predecessor  of  the  present  vigorous  insti- 
tution. 

The  proffered  story,  unfortunately,  can  borrow  nothing  from 
the  halo  that  surrounds  the  old  Missions  of  our  State,  for  St. 
Ignatius  can  claim  no  lineal  descent  from  them ;  nor  can  it  call  on 
romance  to  add  here  and  there  its  touch  of  beauty  to  the  narrative, 
since  whatever  of  romance  lingered  in  the  middle  Fifties  in  San 
Francisco,  was  of  the  rougher  and  ruder  form  that  might  serve 
the  purpose  of  the  novelist  but  not  that  of  the  college  historian. 
It  cannot  even  depend  for  assistance  on  the  poetry  of  Californian 
scenery  and  climate,  for  church  and  college  had  their  birth 
among  sand  hills  which  have  long  since  disappeared ;  and  the  sky 
beneath  which  they  were  born,  while  comparing  favorably,  and 
more  than  favorably  with  that  of  the  great  cities  of  our  country, 
partakes  more  of  the  useful  and  the  healthful  than  of  the  tender 
and  the  beautiful. 

Curiosity,  therefore,  can  find  little  to  whet  or  to  satisfy  its 
appetite  in  the  following  pages  which  deal  mainly  with  the 
humdrum  routine  of  college  life;  love,  and  love  alone  for  Alma 

5 


6  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Mater,  an  interest  in  her  well-being  and  well-doing,  a  reverent 
regard  for  the  lives  of  former  professors  long  since  at  rest  in 
God's  bosom,  memories  sanctified  by  the  lapse  of  years,  apprecia- 
tion of  the  good  wrought  solidly  though  unostentatiously  in  the 
heart  of  youth,  will  alone  suggest  the  perusal  of  a  volume  which 
was  written  for  its  friends.  The  kind  indulgence  of  these  will 
overlook  its  many  defects,  and  find  an  interest  in  details  which, 
trivial  to  others,  are  intended  solely  for  their  eyes. 

For  assistance  in  the  work,  sincerest  thanks  are  due  to  the 
Most  Rev.  George  Montgomery,  D.  D.,  who  kindly  permitted 
the  use  of  the  Archiepiscopal  Archives;  also  to  Rev.  Robert  E. 
Kenna,  S.  J.,  lately  President  of  Santa  Clara  College,  who  has 
generously  allowed  the  use  of  those  committed  to  his  care.  For 
various  favors  we  are  indebted  to  Rev.  S.  M.  Brandi,  S.  J., 
of  Rome,  Italy,  and  Rev.  J.  M.  O'Sullivan,  S.  J.,  of  Santa 
Clara  College.  For  the  letter  of  Rev.  Fathers  Nobili  and 
Accolti  to  Very  Rev.  Father  Gonzalez,  the  thoughtful  kindness 
of  Rev.  Father  Zephyrin,  O.  F.  M.,  Old  Mission,  Santa  Barbara, 
deserves  the  credit.  Nor  must  Messrs.  James  R.  Kelly,  John 
Egan,  Robert  Dorland  and  Professor  W.  J.  G.  Williams  go 
unmentioned;  to  all  of  whom  the  writer  is  indebted  for  various 
details  concerning  the  olden  time.  With  due  appreciation  are 
to  be  mentioned  the  editor  of  the  Monitor,  Mr.  Thomas  A. 
Connolly,  who  has,  with  much  courtesy,  facilitated  the  use  of 
the  files  of  his  esteemed  paper,  and  his  assistant,  Mr.  William 
R.  Moore,  who  in  many  ways  has  given  valuable  aid. 

We  must  also  thank  Mr.  Charles  O.  Miller  for  faithful 
assistance,  and  Mr.  Charles  B.  Turrill,  his  partner,  for  an 
interest  in  the  work  which  we  can  never  duly  repay.  Nor 
must  Mr.  C.  E.  Watkins  be  forgotten,  who  has  placed  his 
old-time  views  of  our  city  at  our  disposal  with  a  generosity 
which  causes  us  to  regret  the  more  that  age  has  afflicted  with 
blindness,  eyes  to  which  we  owe  so  much. 

Lastly,  for  the  finish  of  our  volume,  we  are  indebted  to  the 
taste  and  personal  interest  of  Mr.  Alfred  Mudge,  on  whose 
experience  and  ability  we  have  relied,  and,  as  our  readers  will 
gladly  acknowledge,   have  not  relied  in   vain.       Others,   too, 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  7 

have  contributed  in  various  ways  to  lighten  a  work  in  which 
little  success  has  often  been  the  result  of  much  labor;  and  to 
all  and  each  most  grateful  thanks  are  rendered. 

As  suggestion  has  been  made  that  it  would  be  desirable  to 
indicate  where  the  various  documents  quoted  may  be  found,  we 
have  adopted  the  following  plan:  one  *  will  designate  the 
Archiepiscopal  Archives;  two  **,  those  of  St.  Ignatius;  three 
***,  those  of  Santa  Clara. 

An  appendix  to  the  work  will  contain  the  original  text  of 
some  of  the  documents,  as  also  some  other  matters  that  may  be 
of  interest  to  our  friends. 

St.  Ignatius  College, 
San  Francisco,  October  15th,  1905. 


The   First   Half    Century 


CHAPTER  I. 

SJj?  fflnmituj  of  X\p  Jrswta  in  §>att  3Frattriar0. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1846,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  Garcia 
Diego  y  Moreno,  the  first  Bishop  of  California,  passed  from  the 
sorrows  of  earth  to  the  joys  of  Heaven.  Ceaseless  labors  had 
undermined  his  constitution  and  bitter  woes  had  preyed  upon  his 
heart;  and,  while  ready  at  his  Master's  beck  still  to  live  and 
labor,  no  one  could  blame  him  that  he  welcomed  rest.  The 
missions,  the  pride  of  his  Order,  were  little  more  than  names; 
their  neophytes  disbanded ;  their  homes  and  lands  plundered ;  the 
glories  of  the  olden  days  were  shrouded  in  the  darkness  of  the 
present;  and  vainly  had  human  eye  sought  to  pierce  the  denser 
gloom  of  the  future. 

Before  he  died,  he  appointed  the  Very  Rev.  Jose  M.  Gonzalez 
Rubio  administrator  of  the  diocese  during  its  vacancy,  and  the 
appointment  was  ratified  by  the  Chapter  of  the  Cathedral  of 
Mexico,  the  Archiepiscopal  See.  The  selection  was  in  many 
ways  a  happy  one.  Father  Gonzalez  was  a  man  of  broad  mind 
and  brave  heart,  an  honor  to  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  of  which 
for  many  years  he  had  been  and  continued  to  be  a  distinguished 
member. 

Paint  as  fancy  may  in  somber  colors  the  sad  state  of  the 
religious  decay  in  California  in  those  days,  and  it  will  fall  far 
below  the  reality;  but  we  need  no  touch  of  fancy's  magic  power 
to  sketch  the  picture  for  us,  since  we  have  the  calm  official  state- 
ment of  Father  Gonzalez  himself.  It  is  contained  in  a  circular 
letter  directed  to  the  faithful  of  the  diocese  and  is  dated  May 
30th,  1848. 

*  "We,  Fr.  Jose  Maria  de  Jesus  Gonzalez  Rubio,  Apos- 
tolic Missionary  Preacher  of  the  Regular  Observance  of  our  Holy 
Father,  St.  Francis,  and  Capitular  Vicar,  Administrator  of  this 
diocese  for  the  holy  metropolitan  church, 

To  all  the  Beloved  of  our  flock,  health  and  peace  in  Christ, 
our  Lord. 

From  the  day  on  which,  despite  our  unworthiness,  we  found 
ourselves  obliged  to  take  upon  our  weak  shoulders  the  heavy 

11 


12  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

burden  of  the  administration  of  this  diocese,  we  have  never 
ceased  in  God's  presence,  to  pour  forth  most  humble  supplications 
for  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  this  dear  flock  entrusted  to  our 
care ;  nevertheless,  the  weight  of  our  sins,  doubtless,  has  pre- 
vented the  Lord  from  giving  ear  to  us  and  laying  aside  His  just 
displeasure.  Day  by  day  we  see  that  our  circumstances  grow 
in  difficulty ;  that  helps  and  resources  have  shrunk  to  almost  noth- 
ing ;  that  the  hope  of  supplying  the  needed  clergy  is  now  almost 
extinguished ;  and,  worst  of  all,  that  through  lack  of  means  and 
priests,  divine  worship  throughout  the  whole  diocese  stands  upon 
the  brink  of  total  ruin. 

Alas !  is  it  perhaps  that  on  the  part  of  this  people,  the  divine 
praises,  the  exercises  of  piety,  of  sanctification  and  of  religion, 
the  homage  that  should  be  paid  God  in  his  temples,  are  so 
neglected  or  rendered  so  lukewarmly  and  imperfectly  that  they 
are  no  longer  acceptable  to  Him  ?  Alas !  have  the  malice,  the 
corruption,  the  sins  of  the  people,  already  filled  up  their  measure 
and  exasperated  Divine  Justice  ?  Ah !  may  it  not  happen  that 
the  tree  of  religion  planted  here  by  the  sweat  and  fatigues  of  so 
many  zealous  missionaries,  may  be  transplanted  elsewhere,  where 
it  will  yield  more  abundant  fruit?  Oh!  how  we  should  fear, 
dearly  Beloved,  a  chastisement  so  dread !  a  chastisement  the 
greatest  assuredly  that  could  befall  us  from  Heaven's  anger, 
which,  it  would  seem,  we  already  begin  to  experience,  since  God 
in  his  inscrutable  judgments  has,  for  the  past  few  years,  allowed 
that  in  this  our  country  everything  should  be  thrown  into  con- 
fusion ;  that  the  greater  part  of  the  missionaries  should  die  or 
abandon  the  country,  while  I  have  no  hope  of  replacing  them; 
that  religious  education  should  day  by  day  disappear;  that,  of 
the  pueblos,  some  should  be  destroyed  and  others  totally  aban- 
doned, deprived  of  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  of 
priests,  of  public  worship ;  all  lacking  in  good  morals  and  hedged 
round  with  the  most  dangerous  forms  of  seduction?  What  will 
be  their  lot  ?  I  indeed  know  not ;  nevertheless  we  most  assuredly 
hold  that  if  among  the  inhabitants  of  this  State  religious  igno- 
rance increases,  if  charity  grows  cold  and  faith  weakens  a  little 
more,  such  persons  will,  at  the  first  attack,  plunge  into  spiritual 
blindness,  either  in  the  form  of  infidelity,  or  protestantism,  or 
religious  indifference  and  complete  forgetfulness  of  God." 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  13 

The  good  pastor  then  goes  on  to  indicate  the  means  best  suited 
for  appeasing  God's  righteous  anger.  He  exhorts  to  repentance 
and  prayer;  to  a  sincere  change  of  heart;  to  devotion  to  Mary, 
especially  on  the  approaching  feast  of  Our  Lady  of  Refuge,  chief 
patroness  of  the  diocese.  In  virtue  of  special  faculties  by  which 
thrice  each  year  a  plenary  indulgence  could  be  granted  to  the 
sincerely  contrite  of  heart  who  would  confess  and  communicate, 
he  concedes  one  for  the  present  occasion.  His  letter  is  dated  at 
Santa  Barbara. 

The  prospect  certainly  was  far  from  encouraging.  Times 
past  had  been  bad,  but  what  was  to  be  expected  from  the  future? 
It  is  a  strange  coincidence  that  the  date  of  Father  Gonzalez'  letter 
is  the  very  day  on  which  at  Queretaro,  in  Mexico,  the  ratification 
of  the  treaty  ceding  California  to  the  United  States  took  place. 
The  old  had  gone,  never  to  return;  the  new — here  was  the 
problem  for  the  good  Vicar — was  there  a  new?  It  was  evident 
that  without  a  clergy,  religion  must  perish.  There  is  no  life 
without  the  means  of  living,  and  the  means  of  Catholic  life  are 
the  sacraments  instituted  by  Christ.  These  sacraments  demand 
the  Catholic  priesthood;  whence  was  the  priesthood  to  come? 
This  was  the  thought  that  Father  Gonzalez  turned  over  and  over 
in  his  active  mind ;  this  was  the  subject  on  which  with  tears  and 
earnest  prayer  he  besought  light  from  on  high;  until,  on  June 
13th,  1849,  we  have  from  him  a  circular  letter  as  admirable  for 
the  comprehensiveness  of  its  views  as  for  its  clearness  and  simple 
beauty : 

*     "We,  Fr.  Jose  Maria  de  Jesus  Gonzalez, 

To  all  our  dearly  beloved  flock  at  present  residing  in  this 
diocese,  health  and  peace  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

From  the  day  on  which  Divine  Providence,  in  its  inscrutable 
decrees,  disposed  that  we  should  bear  the  heavy  and  delicate 
burden  of  the  administration  of  this  diocese,  we  have  ever  kept 
before  our  eyes  our  chief  and  most  important  duty  of  providing 
you  with  evangelical  laborers,  who,  by  their  sound  doctrine,  edi- 
fying conduct  and  apostolic  spirit,  would  bravely  uphold  in  this 
diocese  of  California  the  noble  edifice  of  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ;  nevertheless,  the  various  misfortunes  that  have  befallen 
us,  the  immense  distance  that  separates  us  from  sources  of  sup- 


i4  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

ply,  the  deplorable  poverty  in  which  we  find  ourselves,  have  been 
so  many  obstacles  rendering  it  impossible  for  us  to  carry  out 
fully  our  sacred  purpose. 

Of  late  we  have  beheld  with  sorrow  these  same  causes  reviv- 
ing, attended  by  circumstances  that  bring  in  their  train  increased 
difficulties.  Could  we  remain  cold  spectators  of  evils  that 
threaten  a  flock  so  dear  to  us?  Could  we  be  true  to  the  grave 
obligations  that  bind  us  to  the  sacred  Church  of  California,  by 
abandoning  to  the  chance  course  of  events  our  solicitude,  until 
some  easy  and  suitable  occasion  should  present  itself  of  regulat- 
ing our  conduct  in  regard  to  the  pastoral  care  that  presses  on 
our  shoulders  ?  No,  dearly  Beloved ;  your  salvation  and  spiritual 
happiness  imperatively  demand  that  in  proportion  as  your  evils 
multiply,  we  should  redouble  our  weak  efforts  to  supply  a  remedy. 

It  is  our  duty,  therefore,  to  devise  all  possible  expedients  for 
providing  this  diocese  with  the  many  priests  it  needs,  that  divine 
worship  may  not  fall  into  decay,  and  that  your  spiritual  wants 
may  receive  proper  care.  But  how  solve  a  problem  so  difficult? 
How  overcome  the  very  serious  obstacles  that  thwart  us  in  the 
obtaining  of  a  good  so  much  desired?  Behold,  dearly  Beloved, 
the  most  difficult  problem  that  faces  us  in  these  unfortunate  times. 
You  are  all  aware,  for  the  fact  is  so  well-known  that  none  can 
be  ignorant  of  it,  that  in  this  diocese  of  California,  the  Clergy 
has  been  made  up  of  the  Reverend  Missionary  Fathers  of  the 
holy  Order  of  Preachers,  and  of  the  Apostolic  Colleges  of  San 
Fernando  and  Zacatecas;  but  these  have  diminished  so  notably 
in  numbers  that  to-day  but  a  very  few  remain,  and  these,  bent 
under  the  weight  of  years,  and  toils,  and  infirmities,  and  so  utterly 
heart-broken,  that  there  is  no  prospect  of  relief. 

Not  long  ago,  it  is  true,  some  help  reached  us  in  the  persons 
of  a  few  secular  priests ;  but  their  fewness  is  such  that  it  cannot 
supply  one-eighth  of  the  places  urgently  calling  for  the  exercise 
of  their  holy  ministry.  Whence,  therefore,  shall  we  furnish  our- 
selves with  the  needed  clergy?  Will  it  be  from  the  Apostolic 
Colleges  that  have  founded  and  sustained  religion  in  this  coun- 
try? Evidently  not;  for  the  circumstances  of  the  times  have  so 
lessened  their  numbers  that  they  can  scarcely  attend  to  the  needs 
of  their  own  seminaries.  Will  it  be  from  the  secular  clergy  of 
the  other  dioceses  that  depend  upon  this  same  Metropolitan  See? 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  15 

Evidently  not;  for  among  us  there  is  not  even  one  ecclesiastical 
benefice  with  which  to  supply  them  with  a  living,  and  even  were 
there  such  benefices  and  rich  ones  at  that,  the  various  bishops 
have  more  than  they  can  do  to  provide  for  the  needs  of  their 
own  respective  flocks;  and  though  certainly  most  anxious,  are 
unable  to  assist  us.  Can  the  clergy  required  be  formed  here? 
Surely  not;  for  a  new  country  like  ours,  without  colleges,  and 
ill-furnished  with  even  primary  schools,  cannot  produce  youths 
or  well-instructed  persons  who  will  aspire  to  the  priestly  state; 
and  even  were  there  an  abundance  of  such  literary  institutions, 
the  impossibility  would  still  continue,  of  calling  into  existence  a 
clergy  sufficient  to  meet  the  urgency  which  the  destitute  condi- 
tion of  so  many  parishes  creates. 

Whence,  therefore,  shall  we  provide  ourselves  with  properly 
instructed  priests,  zealous  men,  and  in  numbers  proportioned  to 
the  actual  needs  of  the  country  ?  From  Europe  alone.  In  Europe 
there  are  plenty  of  priests  who  are  ready  to  come.  But  where 
are  the  funds,  where  the  revenues  to  enable  us  to  bring  them? 
Here,  in  California,  the  Church  is  entirely  destitute  of  means; 
for  even  the  sources  of  revenue  which  it  formerly  possessed  in 
the  Mission  system  that  obtained  here,  and  the  aid  derived  from 
the  Pious  Fund  and  such  like  sources,  have  all  disappeared. 

What,  therefore,  after  trust  in  God,  remains  to  us?  One 
resource  alone — your  charity.  Ah !  dearly  Beloved,  if  this  human 
resource  fails  us,  if  in  it  we  do  not  find  the  support  needed, 
believe  me,  I  say  it  with  pain,  your  spiritual  needs  will  remain 
uncared  for,  divine  worship  will  be  destroyed,  religion  itself  will 
disappear,  and  with  it  all  true  happiness  in  this  present  life,  and 
all  the  happiness  of  life  eternal. 

But  no;  this  will  not  be;  for  we  are  confident  that  the  Lord 
will  regard  us  in  His  mercy.  We  trust,  moreover,  your  pious 
generosity,  and  are  confident  that  in  it  we  have  a  sure  means 
of  realizing  the  noble  and  important  project  which,  for  so  long 
in  the  past,  has  been  the  object  of  our  desire,  the  bringing  hither, 
namely,  of  a  sufficient  number  of  excellent  priests  who  will  edify 
you  by  their  lives,  instruct  you  by  their  learning,  and,  inflamed 
with  zeal,  help  you  in  every  way  by  their  sacred  ministry. 

To  attain  this  all-important  end,  dearly  Beloved,  and  trusting 
to  your  generosity,  no  sooner  had  we  assumed  the  charge  of 


1 6  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

this  diocese  than  our  first  care  was  to  call  to  our  aid  the  noble 
priests  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  and 
Mary.  In  fact,  His  Lordship,  Bishop  Maigret,  has  sent  us 
Fathers  Lebret  and  Holbein,  who  are  actually  laboring  in  this 
diocese,  and  through  them  we  have  begged  of  His  Lordship, 
Bishop  Bonamie,  some  more  Missionaries,  who,  I  hope,  will  soon 
arrive. 

Yet  what  are  a  few  evangelical  laborers  when  there  is  ques- 
tion of  maintaining  divine  worship  in  so  many  churches?  of 
administering  the  sacraments  in  so  many  pueblos?  of  carrying 
on  the  Christian  and  careful  education  of  so  many  children  ?  and 
of  bringing  into  the  bosom  of  Mother  Church  so  many  Gentiles  ? 
In  so  extensive  a  diocese  we  need  at  least  forty  Missionaries ;  but 
in  order  that  we  may  get  them,  we  must  first  of  all  collect  a 
fund  sufficient  to  pay  the  necessary  expenses  of  travel,  mainte- 
nance, etc.  What  will  the  diocese  do  bereft  of  all  such  aids  ?  I 
have  already  told  you,  dearly  Beloved;  nothing  else  is  left 
us  but  to  appeal  to  your  generosity.  Wherefore,  dear  Chris- 
tians, all  you  that  dwell  in  this  diocese,  if  you  truly  love  Jesus 
Christ  and  his  holy  religion,  if  you  desire  it  to  strike  deep  root 
and  flourish  among  us,  if  you  wish  it  to  sanctify  your  souls  and 
help  them  on  the  road  to  heaven,  you  must  with  liberal  hand 
supply  the  needed  helps.  Let  every  one  according  to  his  piety 
and  generosity  give  spontaneously  what  he  can.  Divine  Provi- 
dence, perhaps,  wishes  only  to  put  your  generosity  to  the  test  in 
order  to  bestow  on  us  a  complete  remedy  for  all  our  spiritual 
needs. 

We  doubt  not  for  a  moment,  dear  Brethren,  that  you  will 
take  in  good  part  this  manifestation  which  we  make  of  our  feel- 
ings and  ardent  desires,  and  that  you  will  aid,  in  every  manner 
possible,  the  grand  work  which  we  have  proposed  to  you.  Well 
do  we  know  your  piety  and  generous  sentiments,  and  hence 
abstain  from  advancing  those  reasons  and  indulging  in  those 
touching  exhortations  which  are  wont  to  be  employed  in  appeal- 
ing to  public  charity. 

What  indeed  could  we  say  to  you?  Is  it  that  there  is  ques- 
tion of  your  own  welfare?  of  the  honor  and  worship  of  God? 
of  the  glory  and  progress  of  your  country  ?  All  this  you  already 
well  know,  and  we  are  confident  that  you  will  obtain  it.     Truly 


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ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  iy 

would  you  have  just  cause  to  be  offended  with  us,  were  we  to 
attempt  to  convince  you  that  the  matter  in  hand  is  the  most  use- 
ful, the  most  pressing,  the  most  necessary,  the  most  in  harmony 
with  your  desires,  your  Christian  profession,  your  true  happi- 
ness eternal  as  well  as  temporal.  It  is  enough  that  we  have 
shown  you  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  cannot,  without  your 
co-operation  and  sacrifices,  exist  longer  in  this  country;  that 
divine  worship,  without  priests  and  a  sufficient  income,  can  no 
longer  continue;  that  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  the 
education  and  training  of  youth,  and,  lastly,  the  conversion  of 
the  Indians,  cannot  be  brought  about  without  evangelical  laborers 
who  consecrate  their  talents,  their  labors,  and  even  their  very 
lives  to  these  noble  purposes. 

Consider,  dear  Brethren,  all  this,  and  act  conformably  to 
your  well-known  piety  and  liberality." 

The  letter  ends  with  the  appointment  of  Fathers  Ramirez 
and  Holbein  as  collectors,  and  makes  a  final  appeal  to  the  faith- 
ful to  give  what  they  can  towards  "a  work  so  important,  so 
sacred,  and  so  pleasing  to  our  Lord. 

Given  at  Santa  Barbara,  properly  signed  and  countersigned, 
June  13th,  1849. 

Fr.  Jose  Maria  de  Jesus  Gonzalez." 

Neither  bias,  nor  ignorance  of  the  true  state  of  affairs,  nor 
fanciful  exaggeration,  nor  narrow-mindedness  can  be  urged 
against  the  author  of  the  preceding  letters.  He  stated  things  as 
they  were,  and  as  they  were  known  to  be;  too  public  to  be  dis- 
guised, and  too  urgent  to  permit  of  delay  in  putting  the  needed 
remedy,  if  religion  was  to  be  saved.  The  old  line  of  heroes 
formed  in  the  Apostolic  Colleges  of  San  Fernando  and  Zacatecas 
had,  by  death  and  religious  proscription,  been  reduced  to  a  rem- 
nant; most  of  the  survivors  were  old  and  feeble,  and  disheart- 
ened by  the  new  condition  of  affairs  consequent  on  American 
annexation.  No  help  was  to  be  expected  from  the  colleges;  no 
help  from  the  dioceses  of  Mexico;  the  formation  of  a  native 
clergy  was  a  chimera;  the  generous  Congregation  of  the  Sacred 
Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary  was  ready  to  do  its  utmost,  but  the 
work  was  vast,  and  exceeded  its  power  of  supply;  priests  could 
be  obtained  in  Europe,  but  the  necessary  expenses  of  travel  and 


1 8  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

support  must  be  assured,  and  there  were  no  funds;  in  such  cir- 
cumstances can  we  wonder  that  when  the  hope  of  obtaining  the 
services  of  the  Jesuits  of  Oregon  was  held  out  to  the  zealous 
Vicar,  he  welcomed  it  as  an  unexpected  means  of  at  least  par- 
tially solving  a  problem  which,  humanly  speaking,  had  seemed 
insoluble?  The  priests  were  near  at  hand;  experienced  mission- 
aries ;  belonging  to  an  Order  to  which  the  Order  of  St.  Francis 
has  ever  been  dear;  who  would  supply  and  educate  their  own 
subjects  without  burdening  the  diocese;  and  who  seemed  but  to 
be  entering  into  their  own,  for  from  them  had  the  zealous  Fran- 
ciscans inherited  the  missionary  field  of  Upper  California.  But 
we  must  go  back  to  the  preceding  autumn  to  trace  the  course  of 
events  by  which  the  attention  of  the  Vicar  was  directed  towards 
the  Jesuits. 

In  the  autumn,  therefore,  of  1848,  Rev.  Father  Brouillet, 
Vicar-General  of  the  diocese  of  Nesqually,  Oregon,  landed  in 
San  Francisco.  The  fame  of  California's  gold  fields  had  spread 
far  and  wide,  and  the  thought  naturally  suggested  itself  to  him 
that  there  would  be  many  Catholics  among  the  miners,  to  whose 
generosity  an  appeal  might  be  made  in  favor  of  a  diocese  which 
was  heavily  burdened  with  debt.  Father  Brouillet  landed,  but 
did  not  proceed  to  the  mines.  True  priest  that  he  was,  the  spir- 
itual destitution  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  which  he  found 
springing  up  as  by  magic,  appealed  more  forcibly  to  him  than 
the  material  wants  of  his  diocese,  and  he  set  himself  to  work  to 
do  all  that  untiring  charity  could,  for  the  motley  and  ever-chang- 
ing population  that  poured  in  from  every  clime. 

A  few  months  later,  Father  Antoine  Langlois  joined  him. 
The  new  arrival  was  a  Canadian  priest  on  his  way  to  Canada  to 
enter  the  Society  of  Jesus.  He  had  labored  zealously  for  some 
six  years  as  a  secular  priest  in  the  missions  of  the  Northwest,  and 
feeling  himself  drawn  to  a  religious  life,  requested  permission 
to  become  a  Jesuit.  His  petition  was  favorably  considered ;  but, 
as  there  was  no  novitiate  at  hand,  it  was  judged  wise  that  he 
should  return  to  Canada,  there  to  undergo  the  usual  probation. 
To  Father  Langlois,  Father  Brouillet  appealed  for  assistance. 
The  field  was  ample,  the  need  urgent,  but  the  would-be-novice 
did  not  consider  himself  free  to  interrupt  his  journey  without  the 
permission  of  those  whom  he  already  considered  his  superiors. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  19 

He  therefore  submitted  the  case  to  Father  Michael  Accolti,  the 
Superior  of  the  Jesuit  residence  at  Willamette,  and  received  as 
answer  that,  for  the  present,  he  should  labor  in  San  Francisco, 
and  leave  the  future  in  God's  hands.  Thus  reinforced,  Father 
Brouillet  devoted  himself  with  increased  zeal  to  the  furtherance 
of  religion  in  what  was  to  be  the  metropolis  of  the  Pacific  Coast ; 
though  he  felt  that,  as  soon  as  he  could  turn  the  work  over  to 
others,  justice  to  his  own  diocese  would  necessitate  his  return 
thither.  Both  he  and  Father  Langlois,  therefore,  turned  their 
eyes  to  the  Jesuits  in  Oregon,  and  besought  Father  Accolti  to 
come  in  person  and  bring  some  of  his  brethren  with  him; 
for  the  spiritual  harvest  of  the  Lord  was  great  in  California  and 
the  laborers,  especially  for  English-speaking  residents,  were  them- 
selves only.  These  early  beginnings  in  our  city  and  their  dif- 
ficulties, we  have  from  the  pen  of  Father  Langlois  in  the  manu- 
script entitled  "Ecclesiastical  and  Religious  Journal  for  San 
Francisco,"  a  document  preserved  in  Santa  Clara  College. 

***  "The  first  mass  said  in  the  Mission  established  in  the 
city  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  was  on  June  17th,  1849,  tne  third 
Sunday  after  Pentacost.  Father  Brouillet,  Vicar-General  of  the 
Bishop  of  Walla  Walla,  in  Oregon,  came  to  California  the  pre- 
ceding autumn,  in  the  interests  of  the  Mission  of  Oregon,  and, 
occupied  after  a  time  as  the  only  priest  who  could  speak  the 
language  of  so  many  strangers  coming  from  the  United  States, 
Ireland,  etc.,  etc.,  he  was  specially  charged  to  yield  to  the  wishes 
of  the  citizens,  and  labor  towards  the  building  of  a  church,  and 
hold  divine  service  therein.  A  beginning  was  made  by  the  pur- 
chase of  a  piece  of  ground  25  by  50  varas,  after  he  had  called 
the  more  zealous  Catholics  together  and  opened  a  subscription 
of  five  thousand  dollars  to  pay  for  the  lot  and  the  building  to 
be  erected  on  it. 

This  building  was  constructed  so  as  to  contain  as  many  per- 
sons as  possible,  care  being  taken  to  avoid  anything  that  might 
narrow  or  divide  it.  Its  walls  and  ceiling  were  covered  with 
white  cotton  cloth.  Some  ladies  adorned  its  little  altar.  After- 
wards we  took  up  our  abode  in  the  attic,  viz :  Father  Brouillet, 
Father  Langlois,  who  had  come  some  months  previously  from 
Oregon,  and  Capt.  A.  Raballon,  a  friend  of  the  Fathers,  who 


20  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

had  resigned  the  command  of  a  ship  of  which  he  had  tired.  He 
had  sought  rest  in  the  bosom  of  religion,  which  by  the  protect- 
ing, and  the  bringing,  and  the  aiding  of  missionaries,  he  had 
propagated  in  the  Islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  and  even  here  he 
employed  himself  in  arranging  the  house,  etc. 

During  the  week,  Father  Brouillet  departed  for  Santa  Bar- 
bara to  visit  Rev.  Father  Gonzalez,  Superior  and  Administrator 
of  the  diocese  of  California,  Sede  vacante,  that  he  might  treat 
of  the  interests,  moral  and  temporal,  of  the  whole  country.  He 
was  absent  two  months  and  a  few  days.  During  this  time  our 
good  Captain  died,  leaving  a  considerable  sum  as  a  legacy  to 
the  church  which  had  taken  care  of  him  and  which  was  called 
upon  to  arrange  all  his  affairs. 

Religion  now  began  to  be  practiced  a  little  in  spite  of  the 
natural  obstacles  thrown  in  its  way  by  the  thirst  of  gold;  gold, 
of  which  all  had  come  in  search  from  every  part  of  the  globe; 
in  spite,  moreover,  of  the  drawbacks  of  uncertain  employment, 
of  various  inconveniences,  of  the  intermingling  of  people, 
strangers  to  one  another,  and  this  in  tents  for  a  considerable 
number;  in  spite  of  the  temptations  of  bar-rooms  and  saloons  on 
every  hand  for  the  multitudes  that  frequented  them,  to  amuse 
themselves,  drink  and  spend  their  time;  in  spite  of  the  smallness 
of  what  was  at  once  church  and  residence,  and  the  poorness  of 
its  exterior;  all  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  shortcomings  of 
its  curate  (Father  Langlois  himself  was  the  curate),  who  was 
called  upon  to  speak  English,  Spanish  and  French  in  the  same 
sermon,  that  he  might  be  understood  by  all;  as  well  as  the  lack 
of  the  time  needed  to  go  and  invite  Catholic  households  to 
church,  and  let  them  know  that  it  was  possible  for  a  person  to 
save  his  soul  in  San  Francisco." 

The  italics  of  the  last  sentence  are  the  good  Father's,  and 
were  doubtless  inspired  by  the  host  of  difficulties  with  which  he 
battled.  The  account  calls  for  a  momentary  digression  inas- 
much as  in  it,  Father  Langlois  speaks  of  the  city  of  San  Fran- 
cisco as  the  city  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  (San  Francisco  Xavier) 
in  place  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  the  Seraphic  Founder  of  the 
Franciscan  Order.  To  explain  the  title  by  a  slip  of  the  pen 
cannot  be  maintained,  since  Father  Langlois  elsewhere  uses  the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  21 

same  expression;  to  suppose  ignorance,  is  to  suppose  ignorance 
of  the  grossest  kind.  Who  could  be  unaware  of  the  St.  Francis 
in  whose  honor  the  bay  had  been  named?  But  how  then 
explain  the  title?  A  few  words,  we  think,  will  suffice.  Al- 
though the  children  of  St.  Francis  had  named  the  bay  after 
their  Holy  Founder,  they  had  named  the  Mission  established  on 
its  shores  "Dolores"  in  memory  of  the  Sorrows  of  the  Virgin 
Mother.  This  foundation  had  nothing  to  do  directly  with 
the  settlement  from  which  the  present  city  has  sprung,  and 
which  was  called  Yerba  Buena  until  January,  1847,  when 
Alcalde  Bartlett  issued  a  decree  changing  the  name  to  San 
Francisco. 

Neither  was  Yerba  Buena  an  old  city  at  the  time  of  Father 
Langlois'  arrival,  for  its  first  house  had  been  built  on  the  south 
side  of  Clay  Street  a  few  feet  west  of  Dupont,  in  July  1836,  by 
Mr.  Jacob  P.  Leese.  The  accompanying  view  from  an  early 
lithograph  will  doubtless  be  of  interest. 

While,  therefore,  the  title  of  the  bay  had  long  been  conse- 
crated by  usage,  the  title  of  the  town  was  of  recent  origin,  and 
imposed  by  the  will  of  one  man.  The  town  was  named  after 
the  bay;  the  bay,  after  St.  Francis  of  Assisi;  as  a  natural  con- 
sequence, town  and  bay  should  have  the  same  patron.  But 
he  who  by  his  office  could  give  a  new  name  to  the  town,  could 
not  reach  the  private  devotion  of  its  inhabitants.  The  official 
name  must  remain  San  Francisco  (St.  Francis)  but  the  civil 
government,  under  American  rule,  was  not  specially  concerned 
in  discriminating  between  the  various  saints  of  that  name;  and 
so  Father  Langlois  considered  himself  free  to  designate  the 
spiritual  protector  of  the  city;  the  more  so,  as  we  shall  see,  as 
Vicar  for  the  northern  part  of  the  diocese  the  administration 
of  ecclesiastical  affairs  belonged  to  him.  Now,  as  missionary, 
his  special  patron  had  been  St.  Francis  Xavier,  the  Apostle  of 
the  Indies.  As  an  accepted  novice  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  his 
special  devotion  was  naturally  towards  the  Jesuit  saints;  San 
Francisco  was  calling  as  earnestly  as  Goa  or  any  other  East 
Indian  city  for  the  missionary  zeal  of  a  Xavier,  and  by  putting 
it  under  his  protection  Father  Langlois  at  the  same  time  sat- 
isfied his  devotion  and  hoped  to  obtain  the  graces  of  which  he 
stood  so  much  in  need.     We  are  not  defending  his  action;  we 


22  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

are  merely  explaining  it.  The  fervor  of  a  novice  is  proverbial 
for  its  warmth,  not  for  the  maturity  of  judgment  which  guides 
it.  The  title,  therefore,  was  neither  unintentional,  nor  the 
result  of  ignorance,  but  was  the  product  of  the  novice  devotion 
of  Father  Langlois'  heart. 

But  to  take  up  the  broken  thread  of  our  narrative.  Father 
Accolti  would  gladly  have  hastened  to  bring  whatever  spiritual 
succor  was  in  his  power,  had  he  been  free  to  do  so ;  but  he,  too, 
depended  on  higher  authority,  and  various  permissions  had  to 
be  sought  and  obtained,  before  he  could  prudently  take  definite 
steps  in  the  matter.  He  himself  will  tell  us  in  a  Memorial  on 
the  subject,  how  he  proceeded  in  the  matter  and  brought  it  to 
a  happy  conclusion. 

**  "I  wrote,"  he  says,  "to  Very  Rev.  Father  General 
Roothaan,  I  wrote  to  the  Provincial  of  Missouri,  I  wrote  to 
Father  De  la  Pefia,  the  Superior  of  Chile.  But,  considering  the 
difficulty  of  communication,  the  affair  could  not  be  arranged  in 
a  short  time.  In  the  meantime  I  did  not  lose  heart;  and  while, 
on  the  one  hand,  I  urged  Superiors  to  send  me  or  others  to 
California,  I  ceased  not  to  send  words  of  hope  for  the  future 
to  Fathers  Brouillet  and  Langlois,  lest  they  should  grow  dis- 
heartened and  think  no  more  of  our  Order.  Knowing,  however, 
that  they  were  only  subalterns  and  mere  assistants  in  California, 
and  as  such  were  dependent  on  the  ecclesiastical  Superior  of 
the  diocese,  Fr.  Jose  Maria  Gonzalez,  a  Franciscan,  a  pious  and 
learned  man  who  had  been  Vicar  General  under  Bishop  Garcia 
Diego,  I  begged  them  to  assure  themselves  of  his  good  pleasure 
in  the  matter,  for  I  did  not  wish  that  I  or  others  of  Ours  should 
enter,  as  intruders  or  adventurers,  a  country  into  which,  from 
the  time  of  its  suppression,  our  Order  had  not  been  readmitted. 
In  answer,  Father  Brouillet  sent  me  an  extract  from  a  letter 
written  him  by  Father  Gonzalez.  A  year  and  more  passed  in 
these  fruitless  negotiations  and  in  all  this  letter-writing,  until 
the  Mission  of  New  Caledonia  having  been  broken  up,  Father 
Joset  recalled  Father  Nobili,  its  founder,  and  sent  him  to 
Willamette.  At  the  same  time  he  bade  me  make  my  month's 
retreat  and  afterwards  my  solemn  profession  in  the  presence  of 
the  Father,  and  commanded  that  when  this  was  over,  both  of 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  23 

us  should  start  for  California  and  leave  the  residence  of  Willa- 
mette temporarily  in  the  hands  of  Father  Menetrey.     .     .     . 

We  prepared  ourselves  for  our  voyage ;  and  although  we  em- 
barked at  the  end  of  October,  on  the  day  sacred  to  the  memory 
of  Blessed  Alphonsus  Rodriguez,  we  were  unable,  on  account  of 
contrary  winds,  to  set  sail  before  December  3rd,  1849,  on  which 
day,  the  winds  veering  in  our  favor,  we  reached  with  rapid  course 
the  object  of  our  journey,  arriving  on  the  night  of  December 
8th,  so  that  the  next  day  we  were  able  to  set  foot  on  the  longed- 
for  shores  of  what  goes  under  the  name  of  San  Francisco,  but 
which,  whether  it  should  be  called  madhouse  or  Babylon,  I  am 
at  a  loss  to  determine;  so  great  in  those  days  was  the  disorder, 
the  brawling,  the  open  immorality,  the  reign  of  crime  which 
brazen-faced  triumphed  on  a  soil  not  yet  brought  under  the 
sway  of  human  laws.     .     .     . 

In  San  Francisco  we  found  Father  Langlois  only,  who, 
single-handed,  struggled  in  the  midst  of  a  storm  of  contradic- 
tions and  difficulties  of  every  description;  the  Vicar  General, 
Father  Gonzalez,  who  resided  in  Santa  Barbara  more  than  300 
miles  distant,  having  made  the  good  Father,  Vicar  for  the  whole 
of  the  northern  part  of  Upper  California.  Father  Brouillet  had 
already  set  out  for  Oregon,  and  we  passed  each  other  at  sea, 
having  scarcely  time  to  salute  each  other  from  the  quarter 
deck." 

The  Jesuits  had  landed  in  San  Francisco  when  their  help 
was  most  needed.  Even  three  priests  were  few  to  attend  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  such  a  community  where  human  passion  too 
often  ran  riot  unfettered  by  the  laws  of  God  or  man.  Not  that 
all  was  bad,  for  human  nature  never  is  so;  but  that  vice  was 
open  and  drew  the  many  along  in  its  intoxicating  whirl.  In 
the  hearts  of  some,  the  sterner  virtues  rudely  tried  took  deeper 
root  and  spread  abroad  a  rarer  fragrance,  like  wild  flowers  that 
thrive  best  in  the  forest  and  find  nourishment  and  moisture  in 
the  clefts  of  the  stubborn  rock.  In  the  hearts  of  a  number,  a 
code  of  justice  primitive,  and  rude,  and  restricted  to  the  more 
necessary  relations  of  human  life,  was  still  in  force;  but  the 
tenderer  and  more  delicate  virtues  of  religion  and  piety  were 


24 


THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 


necessarily  doomed  to  suffer,  where  the  restraints  of  life  were 
few  and  dissipation  was  commonly  the  watchword  of  the  hour. 

The  Fathers  had  come  under  happy  auspices.  They  had 
arrived  on  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  under  which 
title  California  with  the  rest  of  the  Union  was  one  day  to  be 
consecrated  to  Mary;  and  they  had  started  for  San  Francisco 
on  the  feast  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  whom  Father  Langlois  had 
chosen  as  the  city's  patron.  In  this  Father's  Journal,  of  which 
I  have  already  spoken,  the  arrival  of  Rev.  Fathers  Accolti  and 
Nobili  is  jotted  down  under  date  of  December  nth;  but  apart 
from  the  fact  that  Father  Accolti  expressly  mentions  the  8th, 
the  discrepancy  is  easily  accounted  for  by  taking  the  nth  as 
the  day  on  which  the  item  was  entered;  for  the  writer  tells  us 
that  he  was  recovering  from  an  attack  of  inflammation  of  the 
face  and  eyes,  a  condition  of  affairs  which  naturally  would  have 
prevented  the  use  of  the  pen. 

The  statement  that  Father  Langlois  was  alone,  is  also 
borne  out  by  the  same  document;  for  from  it  we  learn  that 
Father  Brouillet  had  left  for  Oregon  on  the  night  preceding 
the  coming  of  the  Fathers.  The  other  statement  made,  how- 
ever, that  Father  Langlois  was  Vicar  at  the  time,  may  be  open 
to  some  doubt.  It  is  certain  that  the  formal  document  consti- 
tuting him  such,  did  not  reach  him  until  March  28th,  1850,  and 
that  its  publication  was  made  on  the  31st,  as  his  Journal  clearly 
states. 

***  "On  Sunday,  March  31st,  the  festival  of  Easter,  the 
above  appointment  (that  of  Vicar)  was  read  in  Spanish,  French 
and  English  at  the  three  different  solemn  masses  celebrated 
for  the  benefit  of  the  three  nations. 

After  it  had  been  read  in  English  at  the  last  mass,  the  Rev. 
Father  Accolti,  S.  J.,  and  Father  Coyle,  a  secular  priest,  assist- 
ing, the  profession  of  faith  and  the  oath  of  fidelity,  such  as  are 
prescribed  by  the  document  aforesaid  and  contained  in  the 
Roman  Pontifical,  were  pronounced  on  the  steps  of  the  altar  by 
me,  the  undersigned  priest,  the  Rev.  M.  Accolti  above  men- 
tioned acting  as  the  ecclesiastical  authority  prescribed. 

Antoine  Langlois,  Priest, 

Vicar  Forane." 

It  may  have  been,  however,  that  Father  Brouillet  on  his 
return   from   Santa   Barbara,  had  brought  with  him  a  verbal 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  25 

appointment  from  Father  Gonzalez,  and  that  the  official  docu- 
ment was  forwarded  later.  This  certainly  is  not  improbable 
as  Father  Brouillet  must  have  informed  Father  Gonzalez  of  his 
return  to  Oregon  in  the  near  future,  and  the  need  of  some 
ecclesiastical  authority  in  San  Francisco  to  settle  on  the  spot, 
cases  that  were  sure  to  arise. 

Copies  of  the  appointment  were  soon  made  and  sent  to  the 
clergy  over  whom  the  new  Vicar  had  jurisdiction,  and  the 
smallness  of  the  number  in  the  large  territory  covered,  painfully 
emphasizes  the  need  of  priests.  They  were  Rev.  Prudencio 
Santillan,  Mission  Dolores,  San  Francisco;  Fra  Jose  Maria  del 
Refugio  Suarez  del  Real,  minister  of  Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose ; 
Fra  Antonio  Ansar,  President  of  the  Northern  Missions,  and 
pastor  of  Santa  Cruz  and  San  Juan  Bautista;  Father  Jose  Maria 
Pinyero,  ministro  interino  of  the  Pueblo  of  San  Jose  de  Guada- 
lupe; Don  Antonio  Ambris,  minister  from  Monterey  to  San 
Antonio;  Fra  Ignacio  Ramirez  de  Areyan,  Monterey;  Rev. 
Abbe  Dubet,  San  Rafael;  Rev.  Stanislas  Lebret,  pastor  of 
Sonoma.  The  last  named  was  a  member  of  the  Congregation 
of  the  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary. 

We  will  not  vouch  for  the  correct  spelling  of  every  name, 
for  Father  Langlois'  writing  is  none  of  the  best;  we  have  done 
what  we  could  to  decipher  it  and  must  rest  content  with  the 
effort. 

Father  Accolti,  as  we  have  seen,  even  before  leaving  Oregon 
for  California,  had  received  through  Father  Brouillet  the  in- 
vitation of  Father  Gonzalez;  now,  however,  that  the  Fathers  were 
actually  in  the  diocese,  it  was  only  proper  that  they  should 
inform  the  Administrator  of  their  arrival,  and  obtain  from  him 
a  more  formal  and  explicit  approval  of  their  presence.  On  the 
15th  of  January,  1850,  therefore,  Father  Accolti  wrote  Father 
Gonzalez  and  received  in  answer  the  following  most  flattering 
reply  : 

**  "Santa   Barbara,   Mar.   5th,    1850. 

Rev.  Father  Michael  Accolti, 

Esteemed  and  Respected  Father: 

With  unspeakable  satisfaction  have  I  received  your  most 
welcome  letter  dated  January  15th  and  written  in  San  Jose.     I 


26  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

answer  it  by  saying  that  I  give  infinite  thanks  to  God,  our 
Lord,  for  the  singular  favor  that  he  has  deigned  to  confer  upon 
this  people  in  the  arrival,  so  opportune,  of  your  Reverence  and 
a  worthy  associate  to  help  me,  by  the  exercise  of  your  holy 
ministrations,  in  correcting  the  morals  of  my  flock,  in  the  educa- 
tion of  youth,  and  the  preservation  of  the  Catholic  worship 
throughout  this  vast  diocese  committed  to  my  care.  I  give 
thanks,  after  God,  to  your  Reverences  for  the  will  no  less  ready 
than  good,  which  you  show  by  employing  your  talents,  your 
zeal  and  worthy  services  in  this  diocese,  which  is  as  destitute  of 
every  help  as  it  is  weakened  in  morals  and  beset  with  dangers. 

Already  through  Rev.  Father  Brouillet,  have  I  expressed  my 
earnest  desires  that  two  colleges  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  should 
be  established  here;  one  in  the  north  where  you  are,  and  another 
here  in  the  south.  With  this  object  in  view  your  Reverences 
were  invited  to  come;  some  donations  were  solicited  for  the 
founding  of  such  colleges;  but,  as  the  offerings  contributed  up 
to  the  present,  are  small  for  so  great  an  enterprise,  I  insisted 
with  Father  Brouillet  that  he  should  urge  you  to  come,  since 
your  presence  and  the  influence  that  you  would  acquire  by  the 
exercise  of  your  ministry,  would  be  the  most  efficacious  means 
for  bringing  about  the  foundation  of  the  two  colleges  desired; 
for,  I  repeat,  the  presence  of  your  Reverences  will  dissipate 
many  prejudices,  and  move  the  hearts  of  those  who  are  able  to 
aid,  with  their  donations,  so  holy  a  work. 

Your  Reverence  is  well  aware  of  this,  and  so  I  cannot  under- 
stand how  in  your  very  acceptable  letter  which  I  am  answering, 
you  express  a  wish  to  know  in  explicit  terms  my  will  in  regard 
to  the  establishment  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  here.  I  desire  it 
and  have  yearningly  desired  it;  I  have  begged  it  of  God  with 
earnest  pleadings;  and  as  soon  as  I  can  assure  myself  that  your 
Reverences  have  collected  from  the  people  of  the  diocese, 
sufficient  money  for  the  foundation  of  the  first  college,  and 
that  you  have  permission  from  your  Superiors  to  found  it,  I  am 
ready  to  send  you  in  writing  and  in  the  prescribed  form,  the 
corresponding  permission  of  this  diocesan  authority.  I  know 
that  what  I  have  said  is  sufficient  for  yourself  and  your  worthy 
companion  to  stir  you  up  to  labor  assiduously  in  the  under- 
taking, certain,  as  you  are,  of  the  sincere  and  efficacious  will 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  27 

with   which   I   not   only   approve   it,   but   shall   also   co-operate 
towards  it,  so  far  as  my  poverty  will  permit. 

On  the  first  of  last  month  I  sent  your  Reverences  the  neces- 
sary faculties  empowering  you  throughout  the  whole  diocese, 
and  in  all  languages  with  which  you  are  conversant,  to  preach 
the  holy  gospel,  hear  the  confessions  of  men  and  women,  with 
the  other  powers  which  you  have  already  seen,  and  which  I  beg 
of  you  to  use  for  the  public  edification  of  this  my  flock,  reaching 
what  pueblos  and  places  you  can,  preaching  everywhere  salutary 
repentance  and  the  kingdom  of  God;  in  due  accord,  of  course, 
with  the  parish  priests  proper,  or  other  priests  to  whom  such 
pueblos  and  places  are  entrusted,  and  with  their  permission. 

Strangers  have  not  been  wanting,  who,  despising  the  priests 
of  the  country,  have  desired  to  build  a  church  apart,  and  have  it 
attended  by  priests  of  their  own  tongue.  Such  pretensions, 
though  based  upon  some  specious  reasons,  have,  to  some  of 
the  parish  priests,  savored  of  schism.  I,  who  hate  every  division, 
and  whose  most  earnest  desire  is  that  all  who  live  in  any  place 
may  acknowledge,  respect,  and  honor  the  Pastor  who  is  lawfully 
placed  over  them,  would  indeed  wish  to  have  priests  well  versed 
in  all  the  tongues  spoken  in  the  country;  but  this  I  cannot  have, 
and  hence  I  pray  and  charge  your  Reverences  that  wherever 
you  celebrate  the  holy  mass,  preach,  hear  confessions,  etc.,  you 
will  do  so  in  the  parish  churches  only,  announcing  the  language 
in  which  the  sermon  will  be  that  day  in  order  that  all  who  speak 
that  language  may  come  to  hear  it;  and  so  all,  without  distinc- 
tion of  tongues,  will  become  accustomed  to  recognize  one  only 
Church,  one  only  Pastor,  as  is  but  proper  and  as  they  are  in 
duty  bound. 

Wherefore,  in  order  to  avoid  any  jealousy  or  distrust  on  the 
part  of  the  priest  to  whom  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose  is  confided, 
I  beg  of  you  not  to  exercise  any  of  the  functions  of  the  ministry 
except  in  the  church  of  the  place;  and,  in  order  to  bring  about 
and  strengthen  the  perfect  union  of  all  the  faithful  without 
distinction  of  tongue  or  nationality,  and  in  order  to  preserve 
peace,  harmony  and  good  will  with  the  parish  priest,  as  is  very 
necessary,  I  pray  you  most  affectionately  that  you  will  forego 
the  convenience  that  you  would  enjoy  in  the  building  of  a  public 
chapel  in  which  you   could   exercise  your  ministry.      Let  us 


28  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

wait  for  a  more  suitable  time,  namely,  when  you  will  build  your 
college  with  its  proper  church,  and  then  these  towns  of  Cali- 
fornia already  well  instructed  in  the  unity  of  one  only  Church, 
will  not  look  on  it  as  strange  that  your  Reverences  have  your 
own;  for  they  will  already  have  been  taught  practically  that  all 
the  faithful  without  distinction  of  language  have  but  one  pastor, 
but  one  church  in  which  they  gather,  and  that  particular  ora- 
tories prejudice  in  nothing  pastoral  rights. 

The  prudence  and  wisdom  of  your  Reverences  will  see  that 
this,  for  the  moment,  is  most  necessary  in  order  that  incon- 
veniences and  jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  pastors  may  be  pre- 
vented. 

I  should  take  it  as  a  great  favor  if  your  Reverences  would 
ask  of  your  Father  General,  two  excellent  priests  who  could 
come  to  the  city  of  Los  Angeles  situated  in  the  southern  part 
of  California,  where  the  foundation  of  a  college  is  of  great 
importance,  and  where  the  people  have  made  an  offering  of  the 
land  necessary,  and  have  given  some  donations  which,  with 
the  presence  of  two  Fathers,  would  quickly  be  increased  by 
subscriptions;  and  with  God's  help,  the  desired  foundation 
would  be  effected. 

Kindly  present  my  regards  to  Rev.  Father  John  Nobili,  and 
rest  assured  that  you  hold  at  your  service  the  affection  of  your 
sincere  servant, 

Fr.  Jose  Maria  de  Jesus  Gonzalez/'' 

Father  Accolti  had  desired  an  explicit  approval  of  the  en- 
trance of  the  Society  of  Jesus  into  California,  for  he  knew  that 
in  the  vicissitudes  of  time  and  the  coming  and  going  of  genera- 
tions, the  day  might  come  when  such  formal  approval  would 
be  of  the  greatest  value;  and  while  the  affectionate  soul  of 
Father  Gonzalez  seems  to  have  felt  a  little  that  he  should  be 
requested  to  state  again  an  approval  which  was  already  so  well 
and  publicly  known,  he  takes  the  occasion  to  go  far  beyond 
what  was  asked  of  him,  and  states  "that  he  had  insisted  with 
Father  Brouillet"  that  the  latter  "should  urge  the  Fathers  to 
come,"  and  that  "their  coming  had  been  the  object  of  his 
earnest    prayers."      Not    only,    therefore,    does    he    expressly 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  29 

approve  of  their  presence,  but  he  states  what  means,  human  and 
divine,  he  himself  had  used  to  bring  them. 

On  April  9th,  Father  Accolti  and  Father  Nobili  sent  a  joint 
letter  of  thanks  to  Father  Gonzalez.  Their  letter  is  evidently,  in 
part  at  least,  an  answer  to  the  letter  of  Father  Gonzalez  just 
cited,  though  a  former  letter  of  February  1st  is  alone  explicitly 
mentioned.  Both  letters  were  doubtless  of  the  same  tenor,  so 
that  the  one,  in  great  measure,  would  be  a  copy  of  the  other; 
but  this  was  to  be  expected  from  the  circumstances  of  the  time. 
To  ensure  delivery,  important  letters  were  often  sent  by  differ- 
ent routes  and  sometimes  different  copies  of  a  letter  were  sent 
at  different  times;  thus  we  shall  easily  reconcile  the  discrepan- 
cies regarding  dates  which  we  find  in  Father  Accolti's  and 
Father  Gonzalez'  letters.  The  original  of  the  following  is  in 
Latin  and  is  preserved  in  Old  Mission,  Santa  Barbara.  The 
translation  is  from  a  copy  kindly  forwarded  by  Rev.  Father 
Zephyrin,  O.  F.  M. 

"San  Francisco,  Apr.  9th,  1850. 
Very  Rev.  and  dear  Father  in  Christ: 

The  letter  which  your  Reverence  penned  on  February  1st, 
did  not  reach  us  until  the  middle  of  March,  a  little  late  indeed, 
but  nevertheless  at  a  most  opportune  time,  since  in  it  we 
received  faculties  enabling  us  to  labor  among  the  faithful  by 
preaching  and  exercising  the  other  duties  of  the  ministry,  now 
especially,  when  by  the  laws  and  customs  of  Holy  Church, 
Catholics  are  obliged  to  approach  the  sacraments  of  Penance 
and  Holy  Eucharist. 

In  order  that,  with  greater  ease  and  fruit,  we  may  afford 
the  needed  help,  we  have  determined  to  go  for  a  few  days,  and 
to  go  without  delay,  to  the  more  distant  towns  that  are  destitute 
of  priests;  and  the  more  so,  that  already  from  various  places 
have  the  prayers  and  earnest  requests  of  many  persons  reached 
us,  of  those  especially  who  are  destitute  of  priests  who  speak 
their  language,  and  who  have  begged  us  to  afford  them  the 
desired  opportunity. 

As  regards  the  letter  of  your  Reverence,  words  cannot 
express  the  joy  with  which  it  was  received,  nor  the  gratitude 
of  heart  with  which  it  has  been  read;  for,  in  it,  your  Reverence 


3o  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

has  been  pleased  to  bear  solemn  witness  not  only  to  your  good 
will  regarding  us  personally,  but  to  the  feelings  of  affection 
with  which  you  embrace  our  whole  Society  which  now,  at 
length,  after  so  long  an  interval,  once  more  sets  foot  upon  this 
soil  committed  to  your  care. 

To  your  Reverence,  therefore,  as  is  proper,  in  the  name 
of  our  Society,  we  return  thanks,  conscious,  as  we  are,  of  how 
much  more  our  hearts  should  return,  as,  in  fact,  from  their  inner- 
most depths  and  with  all  their  affection,  they  do  hereby  feel  and 
return.  God  grant  that  this  least  Society  of  Jesus  under  the 
fostering  care  of  lawful  ecclesiastical  authority,  which  it  has 
ever  been  accustomed  to  revere  in  all  humility  and  serve  with 
ready  obedience,  may  meet  the  pious  desires  of  your  Reverence 
in  this  so  extended  a  part  of  the  Lord's  vineyard,  where  the 
harvest  is  indeed  so  great  and  the  laborers  so  few ! 

And,  indeed,  as  whoever  attentively  considers  the  causes  of 
things  and  their  effects,  and  weighs  them  with  a  little  more  than 
ordinary  care,  cannot  but  perceive  that  the  hopes  of  Catholicity 
in  these  parts  lie  mainly  in  the  training  of  youth  in  religion, 
morals  and  letters,  what  pleases  us  most  is  that  your  desires 
have  spontaneously  the  same  object  as  our  own,  in  that  your 
Reverence  urges  and  exhorts  us  to  build  a  college,  although 
our  letters  written  on  January  28th  and  containing  our  humble 
request  for  such  permission,  had  not  as  yet  reached  you. 

This,  therefore,  we  interpret  as  a  sign  of  the  will  of  God 
whose  place  we  firmly  believe  your  Reverence  fills  in  our 
regard ;  as  also  as  a  sign  of  the  abundant  fruit  which,  with- 
out arrogance,  we  may  and  should  promise  ourselves  from  such 
instruction.  By  this,  however,  it  is  not  intended  that  we  are  to 
exclude  or  neglect  the  other  forms  of  ministry  proper  of  our 
Society,  namely,  the  preaching  of  the  word  of  God,  the  hearing 
of  confessions,  the  giving  of  missions,  etc.,  and  especially  the 
giving  of  retreats,  by  means  of  which,  through  God's  grace,  our 
least  Society  has  ever  reaped  a  rich  harvest  of  souls,  as,  through 
the  same  grace,  the  venerable  Order  of  St.  Francis,  by  the  Way 
of  the  Cross,  has  ever  and  throughout  the  world,  wrought,  as 
it  works  to-day,  the  wonderful  conversion  of  so  many  sinners. 

However,  as  in  San  Jose,  the  chief  city  of  Northern  Cali- 
fornia, if  not  all,  some  arrangements  and  preparations  have  been 


»   ,1 


m 


|v~V. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


31 


made  by  us  for  the  commencing  of  a  college ;  as,  moreover,  some 
property  and  some  money  for  the  putting  up  of  a  part  of  the 
buildings  have  been  freely  offered  by  the  faithful;  as,  finally, 
there  is  a  good  prospect  of  obtaining  everything  else  required  for 
the  project  in  hand ;  nothing  now  remains  for  us  but  to  obtain  the 
approval  of  our  Very  Rev.  Father  General,  whose  kind  permis- 
sion for  so  good  a  work,  relying  on  reasons  which  are  almost 
certain,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  promise  ourselves. 

For,  over  and  above  the  confidence  that  we  have  that  your 
Reverence's  good  will,  consent  and  desires,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  faithful  who  have  taken  up  the  matter  with  their  whole  heart, 
flow  from  the  sweet  providence  of  God ;  over  and  above  the  fact 
that  it  is  meet  to  expect  that  God  who  began  the  good  work  will 
also  finish  it;  our  Provincial  who  resides  in  the  University  of 
St.  Louis  has  told  us  in  letters  which  we  received  last  month, 
that,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned,  he  approves  this  work  which  is 
for  the  greater  glory  of  God ;  that  he  has,  moreover,  chosen  suita- 
ble priests  and  offered  them  to  Very  Rev.  Father  General ;  and 
lastly,  that  he  only  waits  for  the  answer  of  the  General,  to 
whom  he  has  not  ceased  to  recommend  the  matter,  to  send  them 
hither.  Hence  there  is  no  doubt  that  we  shall  soon  receive 
letters  from  Europe  and  from  the  States,  of  whose  arrival  and 
contents  it  will  be  our  pleasant  duty  to  inform  your  Reverence. 

Your  Reverence  urges  also  that  we  found  another  college  in 
some  southern  city,  e.  g.  Los  Angeles;  since,  if  this  were  done, 
provision  would  be  made  for  the  southern  part  of  the  diocese,  as, 
by  the  college  in  San  Jose,  provision  is  made  for  the  northern. 
Undoubtedly  the  intention  of  your  Reverence  in  this  matter  is 
to  be  highly  approved ;  and  the  work  itself,  already  begun  in  some 
measure  by  Father  Brouillet  and  so  recommended  by  your  Rev- 
erence, ought  not,  it  seems  to  us,  be  in  any  way  refused.  We 
would,  however,  make  an  observation ;  namely,  that  once  that  our 
Society  shall,  like  a  vine,  have  been  lawfully  planted  in  California 
and  shall  have  taken  root,  it  will  be  easy  for  it  afterwards  to 
spread  its  branches;  hence,  when  we  shall  have  established  one 
college,  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  to  put  our  minds  and  our  hands 
to  the  starting  of  another.  Thus  will  everything  be  more  solid 
than  if  we  keep  many  things  at  the  same  time  before  our  eyes. 
Indeed  we  doubt  not  that  many,  nay,  very  many  things  for  the 


32 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


greater  glory  of  God  will,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
California,  present  themselves  to  be  done.  The  charity  of  Christ 
presseth  us  to  embrace  all  things  if  possible ;  nevertheless,  Christ 
himself,  our  Master,  exhorts  us  to  weigh  beforehand  the  outlay, 
lest,  having  begun  to  build,  we  should  be  unable  to  complete. 
Lastly,  Divine  Providence  itself  teaches  how  we  should  act;  for 
while,  from  end  to  end,  it  reaches  all  things  with  strength,  and  in 
its  works  could  obtain  its  purposes  with  equal  strength  and 
speed,  it  prefers  nevertheless  sweetness  to  haste. 

What  your  Reverence  has  been  pleased  to  tell  us;  namely, 
that  you  would  wish  us  to  help  you  not  only  by  our  ministry,  but 
even  in  the  administration  of  the  diocese,  by  our  advice,  is  indeed 
thoroughly  in  keeping  with  Christian  humility,  which  teaches  us 
that  no  one,  however  wise,  should  trust  too  much  to  his  own 
prudence. 

Nor  are  these  encomiums  of  ours  inspired  by  any  spirit  of 
worldly  flattery,  but  by  the  simple  love  of  truth;  and  were 
proof  needed,  even  if  all  else  were  lacking,  this  alone  would 
suffice ;  that  your  Reverence,  in  private  letters,  as  likewise  in  cir- 
cular ones  sent  abroad  on  several  occasions  during  these  past 
months,  has  imparted  so  many  lessons  to  the  clergy  and  with  so 
much  sweetness,  charity  and  prudence,  to  the  great  profit  of 
Catholicity  in  these  parts.     .     .     . 

As  to  the  Oratory  that  we  wished  to  build  in  San  Jose,  we 
most  willingly  acquiesce  in  the  reason  given  by  your  Reverence ; 
for  it  has  ever  been  the  practice  of  our  Society,  whenever  possi- 
ble without  detriment  to  the  substance  of  our  Institute,  to  depend 
not  on  the  commands  only  of  the  Church's  princes,  but  even  on 
the  least  indication  of  their  will;  to  no  parish  priest  would  it 
willingly  give  just  cause  of  offense;  no  right  would  it  knowingly 
invade;  nor  would  it  even  make  use  of  its  privileges  unless  they 
contribute  to  the  greater  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of 
souls.     .     .     . 

Commending  earnestly  to  your  prayers  and  Holy  Sacrifices, 
ourselves,  our  Society  and  the  work  marked  out  for  us  in 
California, 

We  remain, 

Your  Reverence's  least  servants  in  Christ, 

Michael    Accolti,  I  o   t  » 
John  Nobili,  i     '  J' 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  33 

There  are  certainly  discrepancies  here  in  dates.  Father 
Gonzalez  refers  to  Father  Accolti's  letter  of  January  15th;  Father 
Accolti  speaks  of  his  letter  of  the  28th.  The  letter  which  we 
have  given  of  Father  Gonzalez  is  dated  March  4th;  the  answer 
of  the  Fathers  is  to  one  dated  February  1st.  But  these  discrep- 
ancies, as  we  have  said,  are  easily  harmonized,  if  we  do  not  form 
our  ideas  on  the  regularity  with  which  to-day,  mail  is  transmitted 
and  received,  but  go  back  to  times  when,  as  the  Fathers  tell  us 
in  their  letter,  faculties  sent  from  Santa  Barbara  on  February 
1st,  reached  San  Francisco  in  the  middle  of  March.  In  such  an 
interval  of  wait,  people  would  naturally  write  again,  and  cir- 
cumstances would  determine  which  of  the  various  letters  would 
be  adverted  to  in  the  answer.  Letters  might  easily  cross  and 
recross  each  other,  and  that  which  started  later  arrive  much 
sooner,  when  everything  depended  on  the  fidelity  and  convenience 
of  the  messenger,  and  not  on  system  or  the  length  of  time. 

Until  faculties  were  received  directly  from  Father  Gonzalez, 
the  Jesuit  Fathers  labored  mainly  in  San  Francisco,  both  on 
account  of  the  needs  of  the  population  and  because  their  right  to 
labor  elsewhere  might  properly  have  been  questioned  by  the 
respective  parish  priests.  They  labored  also  in  San  Jose,  since 
they  tell  us  that  people  there  had  offered  some  ground  for  a  col- 
lege as  well  as  some  funds  for  the  same  purpose ;  and  as  San  Jose 
was  at  this  time  the  capital  of  the  State,  its  prominence,  apart 
from  climatic  and  other  advantages,  seemed  to  mark  it  out  as  the 
natural  location  for  such  an  institution. 

The  appointment  of  Father  Nobili  as  assistant  to  Father 
Pinyero  in  what  is  the  present  "Garden  City"  of  California,  seems 
to  have  been  made  about  the  13th  of  May,  1850,  for  on  that 
date  we  find  the  following  entries  in  Father  Langlois'  Journal : 

"Letters  of  appointment  to  Rev.  Father  Nobili,  S.  J.,  as 
helper  to  the  parish  priest  of  Pueblo  San  Jose,  especially  for 
those  who  speak  English." 

"Letters  to  the  parish  priest  of  the  Pueblo  acquainting  him 
officially  and  confidentially."  In  an  account  of  himself  which 
Father  Nobili  gives  us  and  which  we  shall  insert  elsewhere,  he 
tells  us  that  he  came  to  San  Jose  in  April ;  but  this  he  may  have 
done  in  virtue  of  his  general  faculties,  and  have  received  his 


34  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

special  appointment  afterwards,  as  we  have  stated.  Father 
Accolti,  meanwhile,  had  become  Superior  of  the  Oregon  Mission, 
and,  in  July,  leaving  Father  Nobili  alone  in  California,  he  started 
northward. 

At  this  time,  nothing  was  known  on  the  Pacific  Coast  of  the 
appointment  by  the  Holy  See  of  a  bishop  for  the  diocese;  much 
less  of  his  actual  consecration  in  Rome  on  June  30th.  John 
Gilmary  Shea  in  his  "History  of  the  Church  in  the  United 
States,"  p.  704,  gives  the  date  as  June  13th,  but  this  is  a  mis- 
take since  Bishop  Alemany  himself  in  a  letter  to  Father  Ander- 
son, O.  P.,  mentions  the  30th  as  the  day  of  consecration. 

***  "Paris,  24th  Aug.,   1850. 

Rev.  and  dear  Father  Anderson: 

Things  have  turned  out  so  that  I  have  been  obliged  to  wear 
the  heavy  mitre  put  off  by  Father  Montgomery.  The  Pope  told 
me  that  God  would  help  me.  I  trust  He  will.  I  had  to  be  con- 
secrated on  the  30th  of  June  last.  Some  slight  sickness  and  also 
some  affairs  made  me  remain  in  Rome  a  little  longer  than  I 
expected.  I  also  remained  a  little  in  Lyons  to  obtain  some  assist- 
ance for  our  Mission  in  California.  Now  that  the  good  Provi- 
dence of  God  has  given  me  the  means  of  going  to  my  mission, 
and  of  enabling  others  to  go  there,  I  am  ready  to  leave  for  New 
York  and  Monterey,  after  making  some  arrangements  in  or  near 
Dublin,  by  which  I  shall  be  able  to  obtain,  now  or  afterwards, 
some  good  missionaries,  without  whom  I  could  not  organize  many 
congregations. 

Pray  that  God  may  give  his  blessing  to  our  Church  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  to  its  Pastor  that  needs  it  so  much.  I  hope  to  be 
in  New  York  before  the  end  of  September,  but  I  shall  probably 
be  obliged,  before  leaving  for  California,  to  make  a  hasty  trip  to 
Ohio  and  leave  there  a  few  Sisters,  of  whom  some  will  go  after- 
wards to  help  the  Mission  of  California.  The  good  people  of 
Paris  are  giving  me  several  chalices,  ciboriums,  etc.,  etc.  If  I 
could  spare  time,  I  could  obtain  much  here,  but  I  wish  to  hasten 
to  California,  as  this  is  the  wish  of  Rome. 

I  am,  your  brother  and  ob't  servant, 

f  Jos.   S.   Alemany,   O.   P., 

Bishop  of  Monterey,  Cal." 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  35 

Quietly  and  to  the  surprise  of  everybody,  Bishop  Alemany 
arrived  in  San  Francisco;  and  Father  Langlois  closes  his  Jour- 
nal with  the  item: 

"December  6th,  1850,  at  1 1  o'clock  at  night,  the  Steamship 
Columbus  brought  us  the  Rev.  Joseph  Alemany,  Bishop  of 
Monterey  and  California,  with  the  Rev.  Sadoc  Villarasa,  O.  P." 

His  Lordship  remained  some  eight  days  in  the  city,  and  on 
the  14th  set  out  for  Monterey.  He  had  come  almost  a  year  after 
the  Jesuits,  and  found  one  of  them  officially  constituted  assistant 
pastor  of  San  Jose.  There  was  no  question  of  their  standing, 
and  the  only  anxiety  of  the  zealous  prelate  was  to  enlarge  the 
sphere  of  their  usefulness  and  increase  their  number. 

Some  days  doubtless  elapsed  before  the  news  of  the  Bishop's 
arrival  reached  San  Jose,  and  perhaps  it  was  not  at  first  believed ; 
for  already  on  several  occasions,  impostors  claiming  jurisdiction 
had  presented  themselves;  or  it  may  be  that  Father  Nobili  was 
so  overcrowded  with  work  that  he  could  not  spare  the  time  for 
a  trip  to  San  Francisco ;  what  is  certain  is  that  during  the  Bishop's 
stay  he  had  not  the  pleasure  of  a  meeting.  The  interview  took 
place  some  time  later  when  Bishop  Alemany  returned  from  Mon- 
terey. A  strong  friendship  sprang  up  between  them,  as  their 
correspondence  amply  attests,  and  was  only  interrupted  by  the 
premature  death  of  Father  Nobili  some  six  years  afterwards. 
Each  admired  the  sterling  virtues  of  the  other,  and  each  recog- 
nized how  important  union  and  harmony  among  the  clergy  were, 
if  order  was  to  be  brought  out  of  the  chaos  in  which  religious 
matters  were  in  California. 

Not  only,  therefore,  did  Bishop  Alemany  approve  of  what 
had  been  done  in  making  Father  Nobili  the  assistant  of  the  parish 
priest  in  San  Jose,  but  on  his  own  patronal  feast,  March  19th, 
185 1,  he  turned  over  to  the  Father  the  parish  of  Santa  Clara, 
stipulating  expressly  that  a  Jesuit  College  should  be  established 
there.  Surely  a  more  formal  approval  on  his  part  could  not 
have  been  given. 

It  has  been  commonly  believed  that  the  Bishop  gave  the 
parish  of  San  Jose  at  the  same  time,  but  this,  we  think,  is  an 
error.  It  is  certain  from  letters  existing  in  the  archives  of  Santa 
Clara,  that  at  the  end  of  May,  Father  Pinyero  was  in  San  Fran- 


36  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

cisco  engaged  in  the  purchase  of  an  organ  for  his  church;  it  is 
certain  that  about  November  20th  he  was  in  San  Jose  disposing 
of  what  he  possessed  there ;  he  administered  baptism  on  the  27th 
of  the  month,  so  that  Father  Nobili's  name  does  not  appear  in 
the  baptismal  register  until  December  7th.  The  transfer  of  the 
parish  of  San  Jose  was  consequently  made  about  this  time. 

While  all  this  was  taking  place,  the  pens  of  Fathers  Nobili 
and  Accolti  were  not  idle.  Both  were  men  of  broad  minds  and 
fully  appreciated  the  value  of  the  field  thrown  open  to  the  Society 
of  Jesus.  They  therefore  applied  to  their  brethren  for  assistance 
wherever  they  thought  that  aid  might  be  obtained ;  and  lived  and 
labored  in  hope  which  was  often  enkindled,  only  to  be  as  often 
extinguished. 

We  have  a  letter  to  Father  Nobili  which  is  dated  August 
12th,  185 1,  and  written  from  Kingston,  Jamaica,  by  Father 
George  Avvaro,  S.  J.    In  it  we  read : 

***  "Last  Saturday,  Very  Reverend  Father  General  sent 
an  express  order  to  Rev.  Father  Superior,  to  send  Father  Bertolio 
and  myself  to  California.  .  .  .  Father  Gil  gave  me  the 
letter  to  read,  written  last  year  by  Father  Accolti.  .  .  . 
To-day  a  letter  starts  for  Rome  and  nothing  will  be  done  until 
the  end  of  October." 

It  was  probably  the  manifestation  of  this  encouraging  news, 
for  it  took  a  long  time  for  mail  from  Jamaica  to  reach  Santa 
Clara,  that  drew  from  the  Bishop  the  very  kind  letter  from  which 
we  take  the  following : 

***  "San  Francisco,  Dec.    nth,    1851. 

Rev.  dear  Father  Nobili: 

I  am  glad  that  your  General  seconds  our  good  views.  In 
my  opinion,  California  at  some  future  day  will  be  a  very  great 
country.  I  should  be  most  happy  to  have  contributed  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Jesuits  and  Dominicans  in  it,  and  to  see  the 
sons  of  the  two  great  Patriarchs  harmoniously  fighting  the  battles 
of  the  Lord  against  Antichrist  and  his  forerunners.  When  you 
write  to  the  General,  I  beg  you  to  offer  him  my  kind 
regards.     .     .     . 


MOST   REV.  JOSEPH   SADOC  ALEMANY,   D.D. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  37 

With  my  best  regards  to  Father  Accolti  and  the  other 
Fathers,   I   remain, 

Your  sincere  brother  in  Christ, 

tjos.    S.   Alemany,   O.    P., 

Bishop  of  Monterey,  Cal." 

Bishop  Alemany  expresses  the  pleasure  that  it  would  have 
given  him  to  have  been  able  to  establish  the  Dominican  Order 
and  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  California,  for  both  had  entered  the 
State  and  had  been  welcomed  by  Father  Gonzalez  before  His 
Lordship's  arrival.  The  coming  of  the  Jesuits  we  have  seen; 
the  Dominicans  had  come  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Father  Anderson, 
who,  on  September  17th,  1850,  received  faculties  from  Rev. 
Father  Gonzalez;  and  having  been  appointed  pastor  at  Sacra- 
mento, was  carried  off  by  the  cholera  in  the  early  months  of 
185 1,  a  victim  of  his  devotion  to  duty. 

The  hopes  that  ran  so  high  in  the  breast  of  Father  Nobili  on 
the  receipt  of  Father  Avvaro's  encouraging  news,  were  destined 
to  die  unrealized.  Father  Avvaro  never  came  to  California ;  and 
Father  Bertolio,  though  he  came,  came  only  in  May,  1865,  and 
was  recalled  to  Jamaica  in  early  January  of  the  following  year. 
The  letter  that  shattered  Father  Nobili's  hopes  is  the  following: 

***  "Kingston,  Jamaica,  Jan.  22nd,   1852. 

Rev.  Father  John  Nobili: 
P.C. 

Already  some  time  back  your  letters  to  Father  Emmanuel  Gil 
reached  us;  the  first  copy  via  Panama;  the  second,  via  Havana; 
lately,  the  third,  with  other  letters  written  by  your  Reverence 
on  October  14th;  and  the  fourth,  a  transcript  of  the  one  which 
your  Reverence  sent  to  the  Superiors  in  Chile  and  Quito. 

Not  knowing  whether  Father  Gil  has  as  yet  sent  any  reply, 
I  have  thought  it  better  to  lay  before  you  the  condition  of  affairs. 

Before  we  received  your  Reverence's  letters,  our  V.  Rev. 
Father  General  had  expressed  a  desire  that,  if  it  were  possible, 
at  least  two  of  the  Spanish  Fathers  should  be  sent  to  Santa 
Clara.  Rev.  Father  Emmanuel  Gil,  however,  represented  our 
fewness,  the  calls  that  we  had  received  from  different  countries 
in  South  America,  as  well  as  other  difficulties,   which  having 


38  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

been  weighed,  Very  Rev.  Father  General  entirely  withdrew  his 
request  for  Spanish  Fathers  for  California. 

Lately,  moreover,  as  in  the  English  Colony  of  Belize 
(Yucatan)  nearly  six  thousand  Catholics  have  been  found 
entirely  destitute  of  spiritual  help,  I  do  not  think  that  Father 
Avvaro  and  Bertolio  can  be  spared  for  California. 

The  Archbishop  of  Guatemala  has,  moreover,  given  the 
entire  direction  of  his  Seminary  to  the  Society,  and  as  on  that 
account  Father  Gil  has  been  obliged  to  make  a  journey  thither, 
he  has  charged  me  to  write  to  you. 

I  most  earnestly  commend  myself  to  your  Holy  Sacrifices 
and  prayers.    Your  most  humble  servant  in  Christ, 

Francis  Sauri." 

While  the  letter  of  Father  Sauri  was  disappointing  to  Father 
Nobili,  it  was  equally  so  to  Bishop  Alemany;  not  only  because 
the  Bishop  was  interested  in  the  establishment  at  Santa  Clara, 
but  because  he  himself  had  made  a  personal  appeal  to  Father 
Gil  to  send  Jesuits. 

***  "Monterey,  Aug.   8th,    185 1. 

Rev.  and  dear  Father  Nobili: 

If  we  could  receive  some  considerable  amount  out  of  the 
Pious  Fund  of  California,  I  would  have  a  fair  sum  to  assist  all 
(and  the  Jesuits  just  as  everybody  else)  with  pecuniary  helps. 
However,  my  actual  condition  does  not  permit  much.  Before 
I  could  promise  myself  help  for  other  places,  I  had  made  arrange- 
ments to  establish  something  in  Monterey,  and  I  would  have 
to  be  false  to  those  who  then  bound  themselves  to  help  me,  if 
I  did  not  afford  them  some  little  help.  Besides  this,  I  have 
helped  others  and  shall  help  them;  however,  from  the  little  or 
nothing  that  I  receive  from  tithes,  as  I  do  not  wish  to  burden 
my  conscience  with  many  dispensations,  my  revenue  is  small. 
I  notice  that  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  at  Paris  has  given 
more  to  the  Picpus  Fathers  than  to  myself;  the  same  has  hap- 
pened to  the  Jesuit  Fathers  in  Oregon;  the  Jesuits  have  also 
received  something  for  Jamaica  and  other  places  in  America. 
Were  your  Reverence  to  make  application  to  the  aforesaid 
Association  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  to  establish  a 
college  in  this  diocese,  you  would  doubtless  receive  something. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH   AND    COLLEGE 


39 


When  your  Reverence  will  commence  to  build,  I  shall  do  all  in 
my  power  to  give  also  some  aid.  For  the  present,  I  feel  that  I 
cannot  offer  you  more  than  One  Hundred  Dollars  which,  if  you 
obtain  them  from  Father  Gonzalez  or  other,  I  shall  pay  imme- 
diately after  my  return  from  San  Diego.  In  the  enclosed  I  ask 
your  Superior  in  Jamaica  to  send  some  Fathers.  Salute  in  my 
name  Father  Goetz  and  the  other  Fathers;  meanwhile  I  remain, 
Your  servant  and  brother, 

|Fr.  Joseph  S., 
Bishop  of  Monterey,  Cal." 

The  hundred  dollars  generously  given  by  the  Bishop  out 
of  his  poverty,  has  usually  been  ascribed  to  the  19th  of  March 
when  Father  Nobili  took  charge  of  Santa  Clara.  The  present 
letter  gives  the  true  date.  The  beginnings  of  the  great  college 
of  the  present,  were  even  humbler  than  reported;  so  much  the 
more  credit  to  the  strong  character  of  Father  Nobili.  The 
source  of  the  error  is  the  Memorial  of  Father  Accolti  which, 
reliable  in  the  main,  is  at  times  inaccurate  in  details.  It  was 
composed  about  twelve  or  thirteen  years  after  the  founding 
of  Santa  Clara  College;  and  memory,  unaided  by  documents 
is  not  always  trustworthy,  especially  in  unessentials.  We  nat- 
urally ask  ourselves  what  had  become  of  the  promise  of  land 
and  funds  for  a  college  in  San  Jose,  concerning  which  the 
Fathers  had  written  Father  Gonzalez  on  April  9th,  1850.  We 
can  only  surmise  the  answer:  That,  namely,  the  decision  of 
the  legislature  early  in  185 1  to  remove  the  capital  from  San 
Jose  to  Vallejo,  had,  for  the  time  being,  destroyed  the  enterprise 
of  the  former  place,  and  transferred  interest  elsewhere.  What- 
ever the  cause,  the  promises  never  materialized,  and  Father 
Nobili  had  to  cast  about  as  best  he  could  for  help.  What  his 
difficulties  were,  is  admirably  set  forth  in  the  following  letter 
directed  to  Rev.  W.  S.  Murphy,  S.  J.,  St.  Louis  University, 
Mo.,  in  answer  to  one  of  Father  Murphy's  dated  October  6th, 
1 85 1.  We  quote  the  letter  nearly  in  full  as  a  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  Father  Nobili,  though  it  takes  us  back  to  the  earlier 
years  of  his  missionary  life  in  America. 


40  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

"Santa  Clara,  Mar.    13th,   1852. 
Dear  Father  Murphy: 

I  left  Rome  in  September,  1843,  and  in  August,  '44,  reached 
Fort  Vancouver  in  Oregon,  where  I  spent  nearly  ten  months  in 
quality  of  parish  priest  of  the  numerous  Canadians  in  the  service 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  of  missionary  to  the  many 
Indians  in  the  neighborhood.  The  third  part  of  them  was  car- 
ried away  by  a  dreadful  mortality.  I  baptized  and  assisted  a 
good  many  of  them.  In  August,  1845,  Rev.  Father  De  Smet 
gave  me  the  difficult  task  of  exploring  New  Caledonia. 

Accompanied  by  a  half-breed,  I  visited  and  instructed  the 
various  Indians  as  far  as  Fort  Alexander,  and  in  the  May  follow- 
ing, I  came  down  to  Colville  to  give  an  account  of  my  progress 
to  Father  De  Smet,  who  sent  me  back  again.  So  I  spent  another 
year.  I  went  as  far  as  Fort  Stuart  and  Fort  Babines,  the  bound- 
ary line  between  the  British  and  the  Russian  possessions.  This 
time  I  instructed,  baptized  and  gave  the  other  sacraments  to  one 
thousand  and  three  or  four  hundred  Indians,  many  of  whom 
had  the  happiness  of  dying  soon  after,  including  about  five  hun- 
dred children  carried  off  by  the  measles.  I  was  there  alone 
among  eight  or  nine  thousand  Indians  of  different  languages 
and  manners.  In  May,  1847,  I  founded  the  residence  of  San 
Jose  among  the  Okinagans,  two  days'  journey  from  Thompson's 
River,  and  resided  there  one  year  with  Father  Goetz  as 
companion.  Then  on  account  of  my  impaired  health,  I  was 
with  sorrow  snatched  away  from  my  dear  Indians  and  called 
south  to  the  residence  of  the  Flatheads.  Here  I  passed  the  win- 
ter in  a  very  precarious  state  of  health  and  should  undoubtedly 
have  died,  were  it  not  the  will  of  God  that  Father  Mengarini 
restored  me  with  the  powerful  medicine  of  Le  Roi. 

In  the  spring  following  (1849),  I  passed  through  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Kalispels  where  I  made  the  solemn  Profession,  and 
descended  to  Willamette  whence  I  was  sent  to  California.  In 
company  with  Father  Accolti  I  arrived  in  San  Francisco  in 
December,  1849.  The  object  of  our  visit  was  to  see  about  estab- 
lishing a  college.  I  remained  in  San  Francisco  till  April,  1850, 
assisting  the  parish  priest  in  visiting  the  sick,  and  ministering 
more  particularly  to  the  Spanish  portion  of  the  population. 


FATHER  MICHAEL  ACCOLTI,  S.  J.,  IN  EARLY  YEARS 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  41 

I  then  came  to  the  Pueblo  San  Jose  where  I  resided  and 
attended  also  to  the  wants  of  San  Jose  Mission  twelve  miles 
distant. 

When  there  nearly  a  year,  the  Bishop,  last  March,  requested 
me  to  take  charge  of  the  Mission  of  Santa  Clara  (three  miles 
from  the  Pueblo),  and  here  I  have  since  remained.  I  found  the 
state  of  affairs  here  anything  but  prosperous  and  encouraging. 
The  church  and  its  ornaments  were  sadly  out  of  repair.  The 
few  buildings  attached  that  were  not  either  sold,  bestowed  or 
niched  away,  were  in  a  condition  of  dismal  nakedness  and  ruin. 
The  gardens,  vineyards  and  orchards  were  in  the  hands  of  swin- 
dlers and  squatters.  In  civilized  St.  Louis,  Bardstown  or  New 
York,  you  can  have  no  idea  of  the  cheerless  aspect  presented  by 
our  residence  for  the  first  few  months.     It  is  now  better. 

But  I  could  easily  have  borne  with  the  discouraging  condi- 
tion of  the  temporalities  of  the  church,  if  it  had  been  my  happy 
lot  to  find  her  children  edifying  in  their  lives,  and  faithful  and 
fervent  in  the  practice  of  our  Holy  Religion.  Such,  unfortu- 
nately, was  not  generally  the  case.  I  found  the  faith  and  but 
little  more;  nay,  in  some  cases  not  even  that  in  its  purity.  The 
old  had  become  lax  and  indifferent.  The  young  were  growing 
up  in  almost  utter  ignorance  of  Christian  doctrine.  Virtually 
without  a  shepherd,  without  instruction,  and  with  nothing  but 
bad  example  set  before  them,  what  a  lamentable  prospect  was 
their's!  You  can  readily  imagine  then,  how  much  missionary 
labor  is  to  be  done  here.  And  it  must  be  of  that  patient,  arduous, 
untiring  kind  that  looks  not  for  great  results  to  flow  immediately, 
but  perseveres  in  the  face  of  difficulty  and  discouragement,  trust- 
ing that  God  in  time  will  bless  the  work.     .     .     . 

If  possible,  I  pray  you,  send  me  one  or  two  Fathers  acquainted 
with  the  English  language,  and  a  lay  Brother.  I  was  in  hopes 
that  some  of  our  Fathers  would  come  from  Jamaica,  but  it  seems 
that  they  find  plenty  of  employment  there." 

The  letter  as  preserved  in  Santa  Clara  is  unsigned,  and  is 
evidently  a  copy  retained  by  the  writer  and  embodying  the  con- 
tents of  the  missive  sent.  Unfortunately  the  desired  assistance 
could  not  be  given  by  the  Missouri  Province,  any  more  than  it 
could  be  afforded  by  Jamaica  or  by  the  Mission  of  Chile;  for  on 


42  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

June  2 1  st,  1 85 1,  Father  de  la  Pefia  had  answered  that  he  had  but 
eight  Fathers  and  four  Brothers  under  him  to  carry  on  works  far 
beyond  their  strength :  and  hence,  much  as  he  desired  to  send 
help,  it  was  not  in  his  power.  Father  Accolti,  meanwhile,  had 
sent  Fathers  Peter  De  Vos,  Anthony  Goetz  and  Francis  Veyret 
from  Oregon,  so  that  Father  Nobili  was  no  longer  shouldering 
the  burden  alone. 

Towards  the  end  of  May,  1852,  Father  James  Ryder,  S.  J., 
of  the  Maryland  Province,  visited  San  Francisco.  What  his 
object  was  in  coming  to  California  was  unknown  to  Father 
Nobili,  as  is  evident  from  the  following  letter : 

***  "Santa  Clara,  June  3rd,   1852. 

Reverend  and  dear  Father: 

Every  since  learning  from  the  newspapers  of  the  arrival  of 
your  Reverence  in  San  Francisco,  I  have  been  prevented  from 
going  personally,  as  I  desired,  to  meet  you,  on  account  of  engage- 
ments and  duties  that  require  my  presence  here.  I  even  deferred 
writing,  because  I  was  every  day  expecting  to  see  your  Rever- 
ence here  or  at  least  to  hear  from  you ;  and  not  knowing  in  what 
quality  or  for  what  purpose  your  Reverence  comes,  I  dared  not 
hasten  your  arrival  here  or  propose  anything  that  might  inter- 
fere with  the  particular  mission  with  which  your  Reverence  is 
invested.  Still  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  write  now,  at  any  rate, 
and  to  say  that  here  at  Santa  Clara,  as  well  as  at  the  Pueblo, 
you  have  brothers  and  a  home.  Indeed  we  have  not  much  to 
promise,  but  such  as  it  is,  we  can  at  least  offer  with  a  good  heart 
and  accompany  with  a  cordial  welcome." 

Father  Ryder  remained  in  California  about  four  months, 
spending  a  part  of  the  time  in  Santa  Clara.  In  a  letter  to  Father 
Nobili  he  announces  on  September  30th,  1852,  that  he  is  about 
to  start  homeward  by  sea  from  San  Francisco.  What  purpose 
his  visit  had,  our  records  do  not  tell. 

On  the  21st  of  April,  1853,  the  written  transfer  of  the 
parishes  of  Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose  was  given  to  the  Fathers 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  the  person  of  Father  Nobili. 

**  "We,  Fr.  Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany,  O.  P.,  by  the  grace 
of  God  and  favor  of  the  Holy  See,  Bishop  of  Monterey  in  Upper 
California, 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  43 

To  Rev.  John  Nobili,  S.  J.,  health: 

As  the  Society  of  Jesus  has  for  the  Church,  the  bride  of  Jesus, 
brought  forth  abundant  fruit  and  especially  in  the  Mission  of 
California,  we,  highly  esteeming  the  Society  of  the  Fathers, 
congratulate  them  on  their  presence  in  the  diocese,  on  their  most 
useful  labors  in  the  Missions,  on  their  skill  in  the  education  of 
youth,  desiring  that  their  number  be  increased  the  more,  in  order 
that  their  works  may  also  the  more  increase,  and  that  they  may 
possess  a  full  and  perfect  college.  Wherefore  we,  by  these  pres- 
ent letters,  entrust  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  the  con- 
gregations of  Santa  Clara  and  of  the  Pueblo  of  San  Jose,  and 
the  churches  of  Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose  with  the  houses  and 
gardens  attached  thereto,  and  grant  them  permission  to  have 
colleges  in  these  places,  without,  however,  in  the  aforesaid  conces- 
sions wishing  to  grant  anything  contrary  to  Canon  Law  or  the 
laws  of  the  Church.  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen. 

Given  in  San  Francisco,  Upper  California,  April  21st,  1853. 

fFR.  Joseph  Sadoc,  O.  P., 
Bp.  of  Monterey,  Upper  Cal. 
H.  P.  Gallagher,  pro  Sec." 

Matters  having  been  thus  placed  on  a  solid  footing  in  Cali- 
fornia, Father  Accolti  set  out  to  visit  the  Provincials  of  the  Mis- 
souri and  Maryland  Provinces  and  endeavor  to  obtain  through 
a  personal  interview  what  by  letters  he  had  vainly  sought  to 
secure.  He  would,  moreover,  cross  the  ocean,  and  by  word  of 
mouth  explain  the  condition  of  affairs  to  the  Very  Rev.  Father 
General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  obtain,  if  possible,  the  adop- 
tion by  some  Province,  of  the  infant  Mission  of  California. 

Providence  blessed  his  efforts,  and  on  May  16th,  1854,  Father 
Alexander  Joseph  Ponza,  Provincial  of  the  Turin  Province, 
writes,  from  Marseilles,  France,  to  Father  Nicholas  Congiato, 
Bardstown,  Kentucky: 

**  "Very  Rev.  Father  General  is  about  to  assign  to  our 
Province  the  Mission  of  California.  After  a  few  days  I  must 
start  for  Rome,  where  I  shall  arrange  the  affair  with  Father 
General  and  Father  Accolti." 


44  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

The  dark  and  dreary  winter  of  disappointment  and  longing 
was,  in  Father  Accolti's  heart,  changing  into  the  brighter  spring- 
time of  hope  and  success.  The  Mission  for  which  he  had  so 
zealously  labored,  had  at  length  been  accepted  by  the  Society  of 
Jesus  in  the  person  of  its  General,  and  adopted  by  the  Turin 
Province.  It  had  been  begun  at  the  instance  of  the  Administrator 
of  the  diocese  of  Monterey  and  the  two  Californias,  manifested 
through  Fr.  Brouillet.  It  had  been  welcomed  most  formally  at 
its  coming,  and  urged  to  found  its  colleges.  Its  presence  had 
been  recognized  and  in  various  ways  confirmed  by  the  new  Bishop 
whose  kindness  deserves  ever  a  warm  spot  in  every  Jesuit  heart. 

Blessed  therefore  by  its  own  Superiors,  as  well  as  by  the 
competent  ecclesiastical  authority  of  the  diocese,  the  Mission  of 
California  might  well,  with  joyous  heart,  prepare  for  the  years 
of  toil  that  were  opening  out  before  it. 


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CHAPTER  II. 

3Uj?  (Uoiiege  at  iltfifitnn  Interns. 

In  the  second  of  Father  Gonzalez'  circular  letters  which 
we  have  quoted  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  information 
is  given  us  that  the  zealous  Vicar  had  petitioned  for  more  Fathers 
of  the  Congregation  of  the  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary 
(called  also  Congregation  of  Picpus),  and  that  he  hoped  soon 
to  be  informed  of  their  arrival.  In  the  month  of  March,  1850, 
his  confidence  was  rewarded  by  the  opportune  arrival  of  several 
of  the  good  religious.  .  .  .  The  following  is  the  entry  in 
Father  Langlois'  Journal  concerning  the  advent  of  the  first  party, 
for  the  Picpus  Fathers  did  not  all  come  together  or  from  the 
same  place. 

***  "March  18th,  1850.  Arrival  of  Rev.  Fathers  Theo- 
dore, Felix,  and  a  Brother,  belonging  to  the  Congregation  of 
the  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary." 

This  item  is  supplemented  by  another  which  is  undated,  but 
which  must  have  been  made  about  the  end  of  the  month  since 
it  follows  the  account  of  the  proclamation  of  Father  Langlois' 
appointment  as  Vicar  for  the  northern  portion  of  the  diocese. 

"The  Rev.  Fathers  Theodore,  Felix  and  Du  Monteil,  who 
during  the  past  days  have  arrived  from  Valparaiso,  are  still  in 
the  city;  since,  as  their  destination  has  to  come  from  Father 
Gonzalez,  they  are  awaiting  his  letter." 

Another  entry  dated  April  1st  informs  us  of  the  arrival  of 
Rev.  Fathers  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Sacred  Hearts  of 
Jesus  and  Mary,  and  a  Brother.  In  spite  of  the  difference  of 
dates,  March  18th  and  April  1st,  the  notices  of  the  advent  of 
the  Picpus  Fathers  are  so  similar,  that  one  would  be  inclined 
to  look  upon  them  as  separate  records  of  the  same  event,  had 
we  not  the  clear  statement  in  Father  Accolti's  Memorial  that  the 
entries  refer  to  parties  entirely  different.  Here  is  Father 
Accolti's  account,  in  which  we  shall  again  meet  some  inexact- 
ness in  details. 

45 


46  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

**  "While  matters  were  thus  proceeding,  two  Fathers  of 
the  Congregation  of  Picpus  arrived  from  the  Sandwich  Islands; 
and  shortly  afterwards,  four  others  of  the  same  Order  from 
Valparaiso,  and  finally  a  Visitor  of  the  Congregation  from  the 
Marquesas." 

In  the  order  of  arrival,  Father  Accolti  seems  to  have  erred, 
for  Father  Langlois,  whose  entry  was  made  at  the  time  itself, 
speaks  of  the  first  band  as  coming  from  Valparaiso. 

Were  there  four  Fathers?  Were  there  only  two  and  a  lay 
Brother,  as  we  are  told  on  March  18th?  How  does  Father  Du 
Monteil  come  to  be  joined  with  Fathers  Theodore  and  Felix? 
Were  there  different  parties  from  Valparaiso?  These  are 
questions  that  have  no  direct  bearing  upon  our  subject- 
matter,  and  hence  we  pass  them  by.  The  two  Fathers  that 
arrived  on  April  ist  came  from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  one 
of  them  was  Father  Flavian  Fontaine,  whose  history  is  the 
groundwork  of  our  chapter. 

Father  Accolti  had  not  yet  come  to  California  when  Father 
Gonzalez'  circular  letter  was  distributed,  and  was  not  aware 
of  the  fact  that  the  Picpus  Fathers  had  come  at  the  earnest 
request  of  the  Administrator.  This  is  no  surmise  of  our  own, 
but  is  contained  in  express  words  in  his  Memorial.  "No  one," 
he  says,  "paid  attention  to  their  arrival,  for  no  one  had  called 
them.  They  come  voluntarily  to  offer  their  services  and  to 
endeavor  to  open  a  house  here."  This,  as  we  have  seen,  was  an 
error;  excusable,  it  is  true,  but  no  less  an  error.  Father  Lang- 
lois knew  nothing  of  the  invitation  extended  to  them,  for  the 
circular  that  gave  information  concerning  it  was  in  Spanish 
and  published  before  his  time;  and  he  does  not  seem  to  have 
had  much  intercourse  with  Father  Santillan  at  Dolores,  which 
was  several  miles  away  over  the  sand  hills. 

Father  Accolti,  in  his  prudent  foresight,  saw  that  it  would 
be  more  to  the  benefit  of  religion  in  general  and  to  the  interest 
of  both  Orders  to  have  the  missionary  field  divided  between 
them,  than  to  have  both  endeavoring  to  establish  institutions 
in  the  same  section  of  the  State;  but  let  us  listen  to  his  plan  and 
his  reasons  as  given  in  the  Memorial  already  cited : 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  47 

"Then  I  wrote  again,"  he  tells  us,  "to  Father  Gonzalez, 
begging  him  to  assign  the  limits  of  the  spheres  of  action  of 
these  two  religious  Orders  which  found  themselves  side  by  side 
in  this  new  region,  that  they  might  avoid,  both  for  the  present 
and  for  the  future,  any  danger  of  misunderstandings  so  prejudi- 
cial to  the  cause  of  our  dear  Lord,  as  well  as  to  that  charity  which 
should  reign  among  those  who  seek  to  promote  his  glory  by 
the  exercise  of  the  functions  proper  of  their  respective  voca- 
tions. 

I  set  before  him  that  we  had  come  hither  because  invited 
by  his  Reverence,  to  do  good  and  not  to  be  an  occasion  of 
scandal;  .  .  .  that  California  was  sufficiently  broad  and 
long  to  afford  ample  scope  for  the  zeal  not  of  one  but  of  several 
religious  Orders;  .  .  .  that  as  the  Picpus  Fathers  had 
other  establishments  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  in  lands  en- 
tirely Spanish,  they  could  employ  themselves  with  eminent 
success  in  the  southern  part  of  this  vast  territory,  where  the 
population  is  almost  entirely  Spanish;  and  that  to  our  Society, 
as  we  have  already  some  establishments  in  the  English-speaking 
American  States,  the  northern  part  could  be  more  conveniently 
assigned,  as  this  part  is  already  settled  almost  entirely  by  people 
of  Celtic  or  Anglo-Saxon  stock.  .  .  .  My  letter  produced 
the  desired  effect,  and  the  Picpus  Fathers  were  immediately 
invited  to  establish  themselves  at  different  points  in  the  old 
Missions  situated  in  Southern  California.  One  Father  alone 
remained  in  San  Francisco,  and  from  what  I  am  soon  to  say, 
it  would  have  been  better  for  him  and  for  us,  had  he  not 
remained." 

The  Father  referred  to  was  Father  Fontaine,  but  again 
Father  Accolti  seems  to  be  dealing  with  general  impressions 
rather  than  with  exact  data.  As  early  as  March  28th,  a  little 
over  a  week,  therefore,  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  band  and 
before  the  arrival  of  the  second,  Father  Langlois  wrote  to 
Father  Gonzalez  that  the  Fathers  of  Picpus  had  serious  inten- 
tions of  establishing  themselves  at  Mission  Dolores.  In  fact 
the  name  of  Father  Du  Monteil  appears  on  April  5th,  1850,  in 
the  baptismal  register  of  the  Mission. 


48  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Father  Santillan  was  still  parish  priest,  though  evidently 
meditating  retirement;  for,  on  April  nth,  he  sold  to  James  R. 
Bolton  for  $200,000  in  silver  hard  coined,  the  immense  property 
granted  him  by  Pio  Pico  on  February  10th,  1846.  The  original 
grant  is  as  follows : 

***     "Pio  Pico  to  Father  Santillan. 

Pio  Pico,  first  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  of  the  Department 
of  California,  and  charged  with  the  administration  of  the 
law  by  the  same  government: 

Whereas :  the  parish  priest,  Don  Prudencio  Santillan,  has 
asked  for  his  personal  benefit  all  the  vacant  lands  which  are 
recognized  as  belonging  to  Mission  Dolores,  as  well  as  all  the 
houses  of  the  rancherias  of  said  Mission  which  are  now  in  an 
abandoned  state;  in  virtue  of  the  power  vested  in  me  in  the 
name  of  the  Mexican  Nation,  I  have  granted,  as  by  these 
presents  I  do  hereby  grant  to  the  said  Prudencio  Santillan,  the 
ownership  of  all  the  houses  of  the  rancherias  which  have  been 
recognized  as  the  property  of  Mission  Dolores,  with  all  the 
unoccupied  lands  which  heretofore  have  been  considered  as 
the  property  of  said  Mission,  subject  to  the  following  condi- 
tions : 

1st.  That  the  party  favored  will  have  the  free  and  exclu- 
sive right  to  the  houses  and  lands  which  have  been  granted, 
but  that  he  shall  pay  in  return  for  such  grant  all  the  debts  out- 
standing against  the  Mission  up  to  the  present  date. 

2nd.  That  he  will  request  the  proper  Judge  to  put  him  in 
lawful  possession  thereof  in  virtue  of  this  order  of  possession; 
namely,  both  of  the  lands  and  houses;  meanwhile  the  party 
interested  can  consider  as  lawfully  his,  the  houses  and  lands 
which  he  now  occupies  as  Prelate  of  the  College  of  the  Mission 
of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  at  Zacatecas. 

3rd.  That  the  land  that  is  granted  consists  of  three  ranches 
for  beef  cattle  (Sitios  de  ganada  Mayor)  more  or  less. 

The  Justice  that  makes  over  the  possession  thereof  will 
fix  the  boundaries  with  landmarks,  as  is  customary,  being 
informed  that  the  land  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Yerba 
Buena;  on  the  northwest  by  the  Presidio  of  San  Francisco;  on 
the  west  by  the  land  of  Francisco  de  Haro;  on  the  south  by 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  49 

part  of  the  Sanchez  ranch;  and  on  the  east  by  the  Bay  of  San 
Francisco. 

4th.  That  the  party  interested,  his  heirs  and  successors, 
will  respect  the  rights  of  property  which  some  individuals  have 
acquired  by  means  of  first  title,  both  in  regard  to  the  lands  and 
to  the  houses  of  the  rancherias  constituting  the  property  be- 
longing to  the  Mission. 

5th.  That  by  this  grant  are  expressly  excepted  the  house, 
the  corral  and  the  church,  as  also  whatever  belongs  properly 
to  the  diocesan  authority. 

In  virtue  of  which  I  desire  that  the  party  interested  con- 
sidering the  title  as  firm  and  valid,  such  title  shall  be  recorded 
in  the  proper  book  and  shall  be  delivered  to  the  party  interested 
for  his  welfare  and  other  purposes. 

Given  in  the  City  of  Los  Angeles,  capital  of  California,  on 
common  paper,  there  being  no  official  one,  February  10th, 
1846. 

Pio  Pico. 
Jose  Maria  Covarrubias, 
Secretary." 

This  vast  property,  therefore,  containing  about  three  square 
miles,  certain  portions  mentioned  excepted,  property  on  which 
the  greater  part  of  San  Francisco  now  stands,  Father  Santillan 
turned  over  to  Mr.  James  R.  Bolton  for  $200,000  in  silver  and 
prepared  to  depart.  By  the  end  of  April  he  was  ready,  and 
on  the  30th,  a  letter  from  Father  Langlois  to  Father  Gonzalez 
gives  information  of  the  sale  of  Father  Santillan's  property, 
of  the  rent  of  the  Father's  house,  and  of  his  leaving.  Father 
Du  Monteil  entered  into  his  place.  The  Picpus  Fathers, 
therefore,  took  up  his  spiritual  cares,  which  was  no  easy 
matter;  and  Mr.  Bolton,  his  temporal  cares,  which  was  a 
thing  far  less  easy,  owing  to  the  vast  extent  of  the  land, 
the  activity  and  practical  impunity  of  squatters,  the  unsettled 
condition  of  the  courts  and  of  the  land  laws. 

On  May  6th,  Father  Du  Monteil  was  already  in  possession 
of  the  parish;  for  on  that  day,  Father  Langlois  penned  him  a 
letter  which  says : 

***  "Father  Lebrun  will  go  to-morrow  to  visit  your 
parish,  Dolores.     He  will  propose  to  you,  or  he  will  simply 


SO  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

receive,  what  you  think  can  be  brought  hither  without  prejudice 
to  the  place,  and  without  giving  offense  to  the  faithful:  an 
account,  however,  must  be  kept  of  what  your  goodness  will 
allow  us." 

Father  Gonzalez  was  doubtless  pleased  with  the  suggestion 
of  Father  Accolti  and  acted  on  it  as  far  as  circumstances  per- 
mitted; but  he  was  perhaps  more  embarrassed  than  Father 
Accolti  imagined.  He  had  invited  the  Picpus  Fathers  first  and 
the  Jesuits  afterwards.  Los  Angeles  was  an  excellent  place  for 
the  band  that  came  from  Valparaiso,  but  what  of  the  band  that 
came  from  the  Sandwich  Islands?  The  good  Vicar  did  the 
best  that  he  could  to  satisfy  everybody.  He  introduced  Father 
Nobili  into  San  Jose;  called  the  majority  of  the  Fathers  of 
Picpus  to  Los  Angeles;  and  established  Father  Du  Monteil  at 
the  Old  Mission  in  San  Francisco. 

When  Father  Flavian  came  to  Dolores  we  cannot  say;  for 
the  earliest  entry  which  we  have  found  of  him  in  the  parish 
registers  is  October  23rd,  1850;  just  as  the  last  of  Father  Du 
Monteil  is  January  9th,  1851. 

Father  Fontaine  was  a  tall  man  with  black  hair,  of  com- 
manding figure  and  handsome  face.  He  spoke  English  fluently 
and  with  a  good  accent,  as  we  have  been  told  by  Mr.  Robert 
Dorland  who,  as  a  child  of  ten,  attended  Father  Flavian's  first 
school.  This  school  was  in  an  adobe  building  to  the  north  of 
the  Mission  Church,  and  separated  from  it  by  a  line  of  houses. 

There  was  Mrs.  Liddell's  saloon,  or  rather  tavern,  a  place 
well  kept  and  quite  respectable;  there  was  Sharp  and  Moulton's 
store  of  general  merchandise;  then  an  opening  into  the  inner 
court  of  the  Mission;  next  Lynch  and  De  Home,  general  mer- 
chants; next  a  roadway  about  twelve  feet  wide;  then  Rurfino's 
store,  Charley  Brown's  residence,  and  northernmost  of  all,  the 
Boys'  School  of  Father  Flavian.  This  contained  three  rooms 
with  as  many  teachers,  though  the  pupils  do  not  seem  to  have 
much  exceeded  twenty. 

When  classes  were  started,  it  is  impossible  to  say;  but  we 
know  that  they  were  in  existence  in  the  early  months  of  1852. 
This  we  learn  from  a  letter  to  Father  Nobili : 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  51 

***  "San  Francisco,  April  21st,    1853. 

John  Nobili,  S.  J., 

President  of  Santa  Clara  College, 
Dear  Sir: 

Having  lost  my  wife  and  been  anxious  to  get  my  boy 
at  your  good  college,  I  send  him  in  company  with  Judge 
Hasting's  son;  they  have  been  at  the  school  of  Father  Flavian 
Fontaine  the  last  twelve  months.     .     .     . 

G.   Simpton." 

We  are  inclined  to  think  that  in  the  following  receipt,  we 
can  trace  the  institution  back  to  the  very  beginning  of  the  year. 

***  "I  have  received  from  Father  Flaviano  Fontana  ninety 
dollars  ($90)  for  the  rent  of  my  house  for  three  months,  begin- 
ning January  1st  and  ending  April  1st  of  the  same  year. 

Presentacion   Miranda." 

Of  its  earlier  existence  we  have  no  records,  and  hence  hasten 
on  to  what  concerns  us  more,  its  new  home  still  to  the  north 
among  the  sand  hills,  where  it  was  hoped  that  many  and  pros- 
perous years  would  be  its  portion. 

In  1853,  therefore,  Father  Fontaine  decided  to  acquire  land 
and  erect  on  it  a  brick  building  in  which  he  could  not  only 
accommodate  day  scholars  but  boarders  as  well.  He  had  not  far 
to  go  to  get  into  the  wilderness,  for  sagebrush,  and  low  chapar- 
ral, and  red-berry  bushes  with  here  and  there  scrub  oaks 
scattered  through  them,  reached  down  the  hillsides  nearly  to 
the  Mission  buildings.  Here  was  the  home  of  the  wild  black- 
berry; and,  when  the  fruit  was  in  season,  the  tarrying  place  of 
the  small  boy,  to  whom  the  berries  of  the  bramble  with  their 
accompanying  thorns  were  then,  as  now,  if  the  truth  must  be 
told,  sweeter  far  than  the  thorns  and  fruit  of  the  tree  of 
knowledge.    The  land  is  described  in  the  following  deed. 

***         "J.  V.  Hollinshead 
to 
Flavian  Fontaine 
Deed. 

May  nth,  1853. 
Consideration  $750. 
Revises,  releases  and  quitclaims  all  that  piece  of  land  situ- 
ated at  the  Mission  Dolores. 


52  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Commencing  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Bolton  and  Barron's 
field,  the  same  being  the  west  boundary  of  the  Guerrero  Claim, 
running  thence  along  the  northern  boundary  of  Bolton  and 
Barron's  field,  defined  by  a  board  fence  138  yards;  north,  18^; 
west,  282  yards  along  a  board  and  brush  fence  to  the  south 
boundary  of  the  claim  commonly  known  as  the  Bird's  Nest; 
thence  easterly  along  a  bush  fence  to  a  tree  known  and  marked 
as  the  northwest  corner  of  Guerrero's  Claim;  thence  along  the 
west  boundary  of  Guerrero's  Claim,  marked  by  a  board  fence, 
28  1/3  yards,  to  the  place  of  beginning,  the  same  containing 
81/5  acres,  more  or  less. 

Witness, 

A.  C.  Whitcomb. 

Acknowledged  May  nth,  1853. 

Before  A.  C.  Whitcomb,  Notary  Public." 

The  land  thus  described  was  not  a  perfect  quadrilateral,  nor 
were  its  sides  exactly  parallel  with  the  present  streets  in  its 
vicinity;  however,  as  the  exact  lines  are  not  of  special  interest 
to  the  ordinary  reader,  he  will  get  a  fair  idea  of  the  property  by 
taking  it  as  containing  about  two  blocks  of  land  running  along 
Sanchez  Street  and  nearly  back  to  Noe,  and  extending  from 
about  13th  to  somewhat  beyond  15th  Street. 

The  property  had  been  squatted  on  in  185 1  by  Messrs. 
J.  V.  Hollinshead  and  John  Center,  according  to  the  approved 
methods  of  the  time;  but  as  Mr.  Center  had  never  lived  upon 
the  place,  Father  Fontaine  seems  to  have  thought  that  the  title, 
so  far  as  there  was  any,  belonged  to  Hollinshead;  and  so  the 
bargain  was  made  with  him  and  the  property  transferred  by 
him.  With  the  land  in  his  possession,  it  was  time  for  Father 
Fontaine  to  form  plans  for  building.  In  those  days  Mr.  Thomas 
Dorland  manufactured  bricks  at  18th  and  Guerrero  Streets  at 
what  was  called  the  Mission  Brick  Yard.  Building  materials 
were  therefore  close  at  hand.  Mr.  Michael  Fennell  was  a 
responsible  builder  and  contractor;  his  services  were  called  into 
requisition  and  articles  of  agreement  drawn  up. 

***  "Articles  of  Agreement  between  Michael  Fennell  of 
the  First  Part,  and  Flavian  Fontaine  of  the  Second  Part,  both 
of  the  City  of  San  Francisco;  viz: 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  53 

Mr.  Fennell  of  the  first  part  agrees  to  erect  a  college  60  ft.  by 
30  ft.,  two  stories  high,  to  be  done  according  to  an  agreement 
made  this  day,  penciled  out  on  paper,  to  be  finished  in  work- 
manlike manner,  for  the  sum  of  nine  thousand  dollars;  and  the 
party  of  the  second  part  agrees  to  pay  the  above  sum  of  nine 
thousand  dollars,  to  be  paid  as  follows:  Twenty-five  hundred 
dollars  whilst  the  building  is  in  progress,  and  one  thousand 
immediately  after  the  building  is  finished,  and  the  remainder 
on  the  first  day  of  November  next,  at  the  rate  of  2  per  cent 
per  month;  with  the  exception  of  the  brick  that  Thomas  Dor- 
land  is  to  furnish  for  the  erection  of  the  building;  for  which  the 
amount  is  to  be  taken  out  of  the  nine  thousand  dollars,  and 
Flavian  Fontaine  is  to  settle  with  the  said  Dorland  for  the 
amount  of  brick,  viz :  eighteen  dollars  per  thousand. 

Mission  Dolores,  July  1st,  1853. 

Witnesses, 

Thomas  Dorland,  Michael  Fennell, 

J.  B.  Pretot,  Flav.  Fontaine." 

This  contract,  written  in  a  scrawling  hand,  gave  birth  to  the 
greater  college,  but  at  the  same  time,  though  this  was  unper- 
ceived  at  the  moment,  doomed  the  institution  to  a  speedy  death. 

The  building,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  drawing,  was  situated 
north  of  the  present  14th  Street,  which  at  that  time  had  no 
existence  save  on  the  city  map,  under  the  name  of  Tracy  Street, 
and  was  placed  on  rising  ground  about  where  Walter  Street 
now  runs.  A  fine  spring  lower  down  on  the  hillside  supplied 
the  institution  with  the  best  of  water,  and  probably  had  much 
to  do  with  determining  the  choice  of  situation  for  the  Catholic 
College  of  Mission  Dolores.  This  spring  existed  until  a  few 
years  ago,  when,  in  the  filling  in  of  the  property,  it  was  covered 
over  and  destroyed. 

Thanks  to  the  patient  search  of  Mr.  Charles  B.  Turrill 
among  the  early  photographs  taken  by  Mr.  C.  E.  Watkins,  we 
are  able  to  present  to  our  readers  the  college  of  Father  Flavian. 
In  our  view,  we  have  merely  eliminated  from  the  photograph, 
features  of  later  introduction;  for  the  photograph  was  taken 
some  years  after  the  time  of  which  we  treat.  The  contract 
for    the    building    having    been    signed,    the    work    soon    com- 


54  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

menced,  and  with  it  Father  Flavian's  troubles.  What  ready- 
money  he  had,  seems  to  have  been  soon  exhausted.  On  July 
30th,  he  paid  Fennell  $400;  on  August  6th,  he  added  $500 
more.  On  August  nth,  he  gave  $220,  and  paid  Dorland  for 
bricks  $250.  Then  came  the  borrowing.  On  this  same  August 
nth,  to  D.  Jobson  he  gave  his  note  for  $2,000  at  4  per  cent  a 
month  until  paid. 

Mr.  Jobson  was  a  shrewd  man  in  money  matters,  and  doubt- 
less knew  the  financial  standing  of  his  borrower:  he,  therefore, 
required,  as  a  condition  of  the  loan,  that  the  note  should  be 
endorsed.  Dona  Ciprian,  or  Sibrian  de  Bernal,  as  we  find  the 
name  spelt,  went  security,  and  received  in  recompense  her  own 
measure  of  woes. 

Other  payments  followed  until  September  15th,  when  Father 
Fontaine,  hard  pressed  for  money,  gave  his  note  for  $2,350  to 
Dona  Carmen  Ciprian,  said  note  to  run  a  year ;  settled  what  debts 
he  could,  for  on  that  day  he  paid  Fennell  $400;  abandoned  a 
project  which  had  proved  so  disastrous,  and  left  the  city.  There 
was  never  any  question  of  Father  Fontaine's  honesty  nor  sus- 
picion that  he  did  not  intend  to  pay  his  debts.  He  was  a  good 
man  and  a  zealous  priest ;  but  he  erred  in  his  business  calculations. 
He  started  to  build  a  college,  without  having  carefully  reckoned 
the  cost,  and  unfortunately,  as  must  inevitably  happen,  came  to 
grief. 

On  September  19th,  Fennell  filed  in  the  office  of  the  County 
Recorder  of  the  County  of  San  Francisco,  a  mechanic's  lien.  It 
was  for  the  sum  of  $6,600,  and  purported  to  be  for  work,  labor 
and  materials  furnished  the  college  near  Mission  Dolores,  Flavian 
Fontaine  owner.  Dorland  followed  next  day  with  a  similar  lien 
for  $1,386.  As  these  two  liens  amounted  to  $7,986  and  Father 
Fontaine  had  already  paid  Fennell  and  Dorland  some  $2,000,  it 
is  evident  that  the  building  had  already  exceeded  the  $9,000 
contracted  for. 

It  was  with  much  regret  that  Messrs.  Fennell  and  Dorland 
took  the  step  just  mentioned,  for  Michael  Fennell  was  an  excel- 
lent Catholic,  and  Thomas  Dorland,  whose  Catholic  grandson 
and  namesake  is  at  present  a  pupil  of  the  college,  was  a  fair- 
minded  Protestant  and  a  friend  of  the  Father ;  but  necessity  com- 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  55 

pelled  the  step,  for  it  was  the  only  means  of  shielding  themselves 
against  loss. 

At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  Father  Nobili  entered  into 
the  matter;  and  certainly,  struggling  as  he  was  with  the  fearful 
financial  difficulties  that  beset  him  in  Santa  Clara,  he  must  indeed 
have  had  a  heroic  heart  to  take  upon  himself  the  burden  of  the 
Mission  College.  On  October  6th,  he  settled  with  Dorland  and 
Fennell,  and  so  laid  claim  to  the  property.  But  these  gentlemen 
were  only  the  first  on  Father  Flavian's  list  of  creditors,  and  natu- 
rally each  looked  to  the  college  for  the  payment  of  what  was  owed. 

We  subjoin  a  sample  of  the  letters  which  Father  Nobili 
received,  and  the  answer  to  it  will  reveal  many  details  of  the 
transaction  which  we  would  otherwise  never  have  known. 

***  "San    Francisco,    Nov.   9th,    1853. 

Rev.  Father  Nobili, 

Dear  Sir: 

The  bare  signature  of  my  letter  would  be  an  enigma 
to  you,  did  I  not  take  the  trouble  to  recall  to  your  mind 
the  person  indicated  by  the  name  signed  to  it.  He  who  has  the 
honor  of  sending  you  this  letter  is  the  old  proprietor  of  the  French 
and  Spanish  Bookstore  on  Washington  Street. 

I  have  been  charged  to  solicit  the  payment  of  two  notes 
amounting  to  $270,  signed  by  Father  Flavian  Fontaine  and 
made  in  favor  of  Mr.  Charles  Michael  Trescartes,  with  inter- 
est unpaid  for  seven  months. 

Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Alemany  has  suggested  to  me  three  ways  of 
obtaining  payment: 

To  write  to  Father  Flavian,  rue  Picpus,  Paris ; 

To  enter  suit  against  the  property  at  Mission  Dolores ;  or 

To  come  to  an  agreement  with  you. 

As  the  precarious  position  of  Mr.  Trescartes  does  not  permit 
of  the  delays  consequent  on  a  demand  on  Paris;  and  as,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  would  not  like  to  sue  for  Father  Flavian's  debt; 
Mr.  Trescartes,  before  having  recourse  to  other  means,  prefers 
to  write  to  you  in  a  spirit  of  conciliation. 

If  it  be  not  convenient  for  you  to  make  immediate  payment, 
Mr.  Trescartes  would  receive,  as  a  most  secure  guarantee,  a 
promise  from  you. 


56  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

I  shall  feel  highly  honored  by  your  answer,  which  you  may 
address  either  to  Father  Llebaria  or  to  Messrs.  Pronvalot  and 
Roux,  Portsmouth  House,  Clay  Street. 

Believe,  dear  sir,  the  deep  respect  with  which  I  am  your  most 
humble  and  devoted  servant, 

Henry    Ponier." 

We  have  written  the  name  Trescartes,  for  such  seems  evi- 
dently the  spelling  of  the  writer  of  the  letter.  Father  Nobili  in 
his  answer  gives  the  name  as  "Descartes" ;  we  waive  the  point, 
for  the  particular  name  is  of  no  interest  to  us.  A  prompt  answer 
was  returned  to  the  letter: 

***  "Santa   Clara,   Nov.    14th,    1853. 

Mr.  Henry  Ponier, 

San  Francisco, 
Dear  Sir: 

I  have  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  letter  of  the 
9th  ult.  I  hasten  to  answer  it.  And,  in  the  first  place,  I  thank 
you  as  well  as  Mr.  Descartes  for  having  preferred  to  address 
me  in  a  friendly  spirit  concerning  the  debt  of  $270  due  your  book- 
store by  Father  Flavian. 

In  the  second  place,  I  would  beg  you  to  weigh  carefully  the 
following  considerations : 

1  st.  The  title  of  Father  Flavian  to  the  land  of  the  college, 
so  called,  is  of  no  value,  seeing  that  it  is  that  of  a  squatter;  a 
claim  which  the  said  Father  Flavian  had  purchased  half  and 
half  with  another  American  living  at  Mission  Dolores.  The  other 
titles  better  founded  in  law  for  the  possession  of  the  property, 
have  been  ceded  to  me  in  person  by  the  owners,  in  accordance  with 
an  agreement  which  I  have  made  with  them.  Among  these  titles 
are  those  of  Bolton  and  Barron,  Palmer  and  Cook,  and  a  sale 
made  by  an  Alcalde  of  San  Francisco,  declared  legal  by  the  late 
decision  of  the  Superior  Court.  In  virtue  of  all  these  titles,  I 
have  entered  into  possession  of  the  land,  which,  consequently, 
cannot  be  touched  for  the  debts  of  Father  Flavian. 

2nd.  Since  I  have  taken  possession  of  the  land,  I  have  had 
a  kitchen,  on  which  I  have  spent  considerable  money,  built  on  it ; 
so  that  the  kitchen,  as  well  as  the  land,  is  my  personal  property. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  57 

3rd.  In  the  house  built  by  Father  Flavian,  there  is  nothing 
to  attach,  since  it  does  not  contain  even  a  table  or  a  chair. 

4th.  There  remains,  therefore,  the  brick  building  such  as 
Father  Flavian  has  left  it,  and  for  which  he  agreed  to  pay  the 
architect  about  $10,000;  of  which  sum,  however,  he  has 
paid  but  a  comparatively  small  part.  His  debt  with  the 
architect  has,  therefore,  been  the  cause  of  his  somewhat  sudden 
departure. 

When  this  was  known,  several  persons  were  on  the  point  of 
uniting  to  buy  up  the  interests  both  of  the  architect  of  the  build- 
ing in  question,  and  those  of  such  as  had  furnished  materials,  and 
of  putting  the  house  up  at  auction,  that  they  might  purchase  it 
for  themselves,  since  architect  and  workmen  had  a  lien  upon  it. 
Had  these  speculators  succeeded  in  carrying  out  their  project, 
you,  dear  sir,  would,  in  all  probability,  have  given  up  all  hope 
of  ever  getting  back  your  $270,  just  as  others  who  are  in  a  like 
fix  would  have  done :  since  the  amount  realized  at  auction  would 
scarcely  cover  what  was  owed  the  workmen. 

5th.  If  the  house  such  as  Father  Flavian  left  it,  namely, 
without  title  to  the  land,  were  now  to  be  put  up  at  auction,  you 
would  have,  I  think,  less  hope  of  recovering  your  money;  for 
since  the  time  of  which  I  have  spoken,  there  has  been  presented 
a  note  for  some  $4,500  in  favor  of  Dona  Carmen  Ciprian,  to 
say  nothing  of  other  debts  of  Father  Flavian  which  mount  up  to 
more  than  $2,000. 

6th.  If  you  decide  upon  entering  suit  against  the  property 
of  Father  Flavian,  there  is,  according  to  the  law  which  obtains 
here,  but  one  way  of  proceeding  in  order  to  obtain  what  you 
desire,  and  that  is  to  cite  Father  Flavian  before  the  court.  But, 
as  he  is  at  present  outside  the  State,  you  must  wait  six  months  to 
give  him  time  to  appear  in  person  or  by  his  attorney,  and  you 
must,  meanwhile,  bear  the  expense  of  the  publication  of  the  cita- 
tion in  the  newspapers.  If  by  the  end  of  the  six  months  he  has 
not  put  in  an  appearance,  you  are  allowed  to  proceed  against  his 
property,  on  which  the  workmen  and  the  others  who  have  already 
taken  steps  to  reimburse  themselves  have  a  prior  claim. 

Hence  you  see,  dear  sir,  the  uncertainty  of  your  ever  recover- 
ing your  money,  even  were  you  to  wish  to  follow  this  method. 


58  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

7th.  As  to  myself,  I  have  no  wish  to  proceed  against  Father 
Flavian  or  the  Congregation  of  Picpus,  until  I  learn  what  they, 
on  their  part,  intend  to  do.  I  have  merely  purchased  all  the 
rights  of  the  workmen,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  save  the  house, 
until  I  learn  their  good  pleasure.  You  see,  therefore,  dear  sir, 
that  by  my  purchase  of  the  rights  of  the  workmen,  I  have  not 
undertaken  to  settle  all  the  legal  debts  contracted  by  Father 
Flavian,  nor  have  I  taken  his  affairs  into  my  hands.  As  his  Lord- 
ship, the  Bishop,  and  others  whom  I  begged  to  save  the  building 
for  the  Church,  were  not  in  a  condition  to  do  so,  I  have  exerted 
myself  to  prevent  the  evil  that  would  follow  were  the  structure 
to  fall  into  other  hands. 

8th.  However,  I  am  not  overinterested  in  the  matter;  and, 
if  the  sum  total  of  Father  Flavian's  debts  runs  up  too  high,  I 
shall  certainly  put  up  the  house  at  auction.  I,  for  my  part,  shall 
get  back  what  money  I  have  spent,  the  others  and  yourselves, 
dear  sirs,  must  take  your  chances.  Before,  however,  proceeding 
to  such  extremity,  the  law  allows  me  eight  months.  Meanwhile 
(I  pray  you,  dear  sir,  to  consider  well  this  determination  of 
mine)  that,  if  the  debts  of  Father  Flavian  do  not  exceed  too  much 
the  value  of  the  house,  I  shall,  out  of  regard  for  the  justice  of 
your  case,  and  because  such  is  the  desire  of  His  Lordship,  the 
Bishop,  and  such  has  been  my  own  from  the  beginning,  when, 
at  the  prayers  of  my  friends  I  took  control  of  matters,  I  shall,  1 
say,  settle  one  by  one  the  debts  contracted  by  Father  Flavian, 
when  I  shall  have  canceled  my  own  debt  contracted  in  purchas- 
ing the  rights  of  the  workmen.  To  do  this,  however,  will  require 
time  and  patience,  for  I  cannot  work  miracles  in  order  to  get 
together  so  much  money  all  at  once. 

I  would  therefore  beg  you,  as  well  as  the  others,  not  to  press 
the  larger  debts.  Your  risk  will  not  be  a  whit  greater  than  it  is 
now  if  the  house  be  put  up  at  auction.  I  must,  moreover,  exam- 
ine the  debts  themselves.  I  shall  be  in  San  Francisco,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  about  Christmas,  as  my  duties  will  not  permit  me  to  go 
sooner.  I  shall  then  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  and  Mr. 
Descartes,  and  of  arranging  matters  in  a  friendly  spirit  and  for 
the  best. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  59 

Thanking  you  again  for  the  sentiments  of  confidence 
expressed  in  your  letter,  and  begging  the  favor  of  a  word  in 
answer  to  the  present,  I  have  the  honor  of  being 

Your  devoted  servant, 

John  Nobili,  S.  J." 

While  all  this  was  taking  place,  Father  Accolti  was  in  Rome 
on  his  visit  to  the  General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  What  he 
himself  would  have  done,  had  he  been  in  California,  we  do  not 
know.  Judgments  formed  at  a  distance  and  judgments  formed 
on  the  spot  are  frequently  quite  different.  We  learn,  however, 
from  his  Memorial  that  he  did  not  entirely  approve  of  Father 
Nobili's  action.  He  is  giving  the  General  an  account  of  the 
assets  of  Santa  Clara  College: 

**  "To  these,"  he  says,  "should  be  added  a  brick  house 
with  twelve  acres  of  land  near  Mission  Dolores,  and  three  miles 
from  San  Francisco.  This  land  had  been  taken  up  by  a  Father 
who  thought  that  it  was  land  open  to  occupancy,  and  who  built 
upon  it  a  commodious  house  in  which  he  started  a  college.  But, 
as  he  could  not  meet  his  obligations,  he  left  the  city  and  went 
to  Panama,  where  he  died.  As  his  creditors  were  about  to  sell 
the  house  and  land,  Father  Nobili  was  persuaded  by  various 
friends,  and  even  by  the  Bishop,  to  purchase  it,  certain,  as  he  was, 
that  in  time  this  property  would  be  of  immense  value,  and  a  site 
on  which,  in  the  future,  a  college  might  be  built. 

This  happened  precisely  at  the  time  that  I  was  in  Rome,  and 
your  Paternity  handed  me  the  letter  in  which  Father  Nobili  com- 
municated to  me  the  news;  which  news  I,  in  turn,  immediately 
imparted  to  your  Paternity.  This  property  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Mission  of  Sorrows  (Dolores)  has  been  to  us  a  source  of  many 
sorrows ;  for,  from  that  time  up  to  the  present,  various  claimants 
have  presented  themselves,  with  whom,  in  order  to  avoid  law- 
suits, we  have  had  to  make  various  onerous  compromises,  so  that 
at  different  times  we  have  had  to  pay  sums  which,  all  told,  would 
amount  to  $10,000;  this  added  to  the  $11,000  which  Father 
Nobili  paid  originally,  would  run  the  price  of  the  property  up  to 
$21,000." 

The  reader  will  again  note  some  inaccuracies  in  Father 
Accolti's  statement,  as,  e.  g.,  the  12  acres  of  land  (there  were 


60  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

only  8  1/5)  ;  the  actual  starting  of  the  college;  and  the  occupancy 
of  the  land  by  the  Father,  whereas  he  had  bought  the  place  of 
Hollinshead.  Father  Accolti  is  nearer  the  truth  when  he  treats 
of  the  amount  that  the  property  cost  Father  Nobili.  How  much 
the  latter  actually  paid  before  he  was  through  with  Father 
Flavian's  creditors  we  do  not  know;  but  we  have  a  partial  sum- 
ming up  in  his  own  handwriting,  and  it  runs  beyond  the  $11,000 
stated  by  Father  Accolti. 

Having  settled  with  Fennell  and  Dorland  on  October  6th, 
Father  Nobili  leased  to  Francois  Robin,  for  three  months,  the 
vegetable  garden  that  occupied  the  southern  part  of  the  prop- 
erty. Of  this  Robin  and  his  amiable  spouse  we  shall  hear 
more  anon. 

We  have  sought,  but  sought  in  vain,  to  learn  under  what 
conditions  Father  Nobili  opened  his  school,  the  day  of  open- 
ing, the  number  of  pupils,  the  teachers,  etc.;  records  are  com- 
pletely lacking.  The  beginnings  were  certainly  humble,  for 
the  college  was  not  a  success;  and  we  are  inclined  to  think  that 
Father  Francis  Veyret,  who  was  sent  from  Santa  Clara  to 
be  its  president,  was  its  only  teacher.  The  time  of  opening 
would  naturally  be  about  the  beginning  of  1854.  In  Father 
Nobili's  letter  of  November  14th,  1853,  addressed  to  Mr. 
Ponier,  we  are  told  that  the  building  was  finished  and  the 
kitchen  built;  but  the  brick  walls  would  require  some  time  to 
dry  before  being  ready  for  occupancy;  and  money  for  furnish- 
ing, considering  the  heavy  drain  on  Father  Nobili's  purse, 
would  not  be  so  easily  forthcoming.  We  know  that  Father 
Veyret  was  at  Mission  Dolores  on  January  25th,  1854,  for  on 
that  day  we  find  him  witnessing  to  the  lease  renewed  by  Robin; 
earlier  than  this,  in  connection  with  our  present  subject,  we  can- 
not trace  him. 

In  placing  Father  Veyret  at  the  head  of  the  institution, 
Father  Nobili  had  done  everything  in  his  power  to  ensure 
success,  but  this,  alas !  is  not  always  proportioned  to  effort.  A 
college  building  of  two  stories  standing  out  prominently  on  a 
hillside  was  certainly,  for  the  time  of  which  we  write,  imposing 
enough;  but  it  was  difficult  of  access  and  had  little  level  ground 
around  it  for  the  games  of  boyhood.  We  must  not  think  of 
the  Mission  Dolores  of  to-day,  an  integral  part  of  San  Fran- 


. 


. 


iW?^ 


FATHER  FRANCIS  VEYRET,  S.  J. 


■MBBi 


J 


MISSION  DOLORES 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  61 

cisco,  and  easily  reached  by  car  from  any  portion  of  the  city, 
and  vainly  imagine  that  such  was  the  Mission  of  half  a  century 
ago.  Market  Street  was  stopped  at  Third  and  Kearny  by  bar- 
riers of  sand.  The  traveler  to  the  Mission  had  to  take  the  stage 
down  Third  to  Mission  Street,  then  out  over  a  road  of  planks 
skirting  sand  hill  after  sand  hill,  until  tired  and  sore  with  plunge, 
and  jolt,  and  bump,  he  reached  his  destination.  The  road  to 
the  college  began  about  four  hundred  feet  north  of  the  Mission 
buildings,  with  many  a  turn  winding  its  narrow  way  through 
the  sand  and  brush. 

Father  Francis  Veyret  was  born  at  St.  Pierre  le  Bceuf, 
diocese  of  Lyons,  March  6th,  1823.  Ordained  a  secular  priest, 
he  sought  the  humble  ministry  of  the  foreign  missions,  and  was 
sent  to  Oregon.  The  date  of  his  entrance  into  the  Society  of 
Jesus  is  uncertain;  March  19th,  1851,  being  the  most  probable. 
He  was,  therefore,  either  a  novice  or  he  had  lately  completed 
his  novitiate,  when  appointed  to  rule  over  the  destinies  of  the 
new  college.  We  shall  see  that  his  stay  here  lasted  about  a 
year.  He  was  then  recalled  to  Santa  Clara,  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  with  the  exception  of  the  scholastic  year, 
1 878- 1 879,  during  which  he  filled  the  chair  of  mental  philosophy 
in  St.  Ignatius  College.  His  whole  life  as  a  Jesuit  was  mainly 
spent  in  the  classroom,  and  for  years  he  was  prefect  in  the 
senior  students'  dormitory  in  Santa  Clara.  This  unpleasant 
duty  was  yearly  the  subject  of  his  petition  to  Superiors  when, 
owing  to  his  age,  they  should  have  relieved  him  of  the  burden. 
He  would  sacrifice  himself  to  spare  others,  and  hide  to  the  best 
of  his  ability  a  rare  spirit  of  self-denial.  His  piety  was  as 
unobtrusive  as  sincere,  the  chief  objects  of  his  solicitude  being 
the  poor  of  Christ.  Day  by  day,  when  college  duties  were  over, 
he  was  at  their  bedside,  soothing  them  with  his  words  of  com- 
fort, and  cheering  them  with  his  genial  smile;  and  the  basket 
which  he  carried  concealed  beneath  his  cloak,  brought  solace 
to  the  poor  body  of  the  sufferer,  while  his  tender  zeal  omitted 
nothing  that  could  help  an  anxious  soul.  He  died  on  Decem- 
ber 10th,  1879,  after  many  months  of  acute  suffering  borne  with 
saintly  patience. 

But  let  us  return  to  our  Mission  College.  On  February 
8th,  1854,  Father  Nobili  entered  suit  against  Father  Fontaine 


62  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

to  recover  the  money  spent  in  satisfying  the  claims  of  Fennell 
and  Dorland.  The  object  of  the  action  was  to  obtain  a  legal 
title  to  the  property.  We  can  easily  imagine  that  his  new 
troubles  and  trials  were  little  to  his  taste;  and  only  the  thought 
that  his  sacrifices  were  for  the  best  interests  of  the  Church 
could  have  reconciled  him  to  his  thankless  task.  How  the 
matter  weighed  on  him  is  revealed  by  his  letters  to  his  lawyer. 

***  "Santa  Clara,  June  2nd,    1854. 

To  W.  Hart,  Esq., 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  send  you,  as  requested,  the  notes  for  Dona  Carmen. 
Please  see  how  it  should  be  with  her.  I  hope  now  to  see 
the  whole  affair  of  the  Mission  College  concluded  in  a  short 
time  .  .  .  unless  some  other  claim  should  be  raised  against 
my  poor  purchase.     .     .     . 

Your  affectionate  servant, 

John  Nobili,  S.  J." 

***  "Santa  Clara,  June  28th,    1854. 

To  W.  Hart,  Esq., 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 
Dear  Sir: 

.  .  .  As  to  the  purchase  of  the  judgment  against 
Flavian  Fontaine  ...  it  comes  at  a  bad  time.  The 
parents  of  the  boys  who  owe  me  money  do  not  even  answer  my 
letters.  I  have  just  now  not  even  fifty  dollars  to  dispose  of. 
.  .  .  Please  urge  the  matter  of  the  Mission  College  with 
as  much  speed  as  possible,  or  else,  I  fear,  it  will  derange  my 
finances  and  ruin  me.  .  .  .  Please  tell  me  when  it  will 
be  concluded. 

Your  affectionate  servant, 

John  Nobili,  S.  J." 

The  judgment  of  which  the  letter  speaks  was  a  decision  of 
the  court  against  Father  Fontaine  in  favor  of  George  Scarpa 
for  $417.67.  Father  Nobili  forwarded  the  money,  paying  in 
part  by  an  order  on  J.  D.  Carr,  and  in  part  by  money  borrowed 
from  Mr.  Forbes. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  63 

On  September  21st,  1854,  he  won  his  suit  against  Father 
Fontaine,  who,  naturally,  did  not  contest  it,  and  who,  if  he 
knew  of  the  transaction,  must  have  rejoiced  to  know  that  his 
debts  were  being  paid.  On  October  16th,  the  sheriff,  to  satisfy 
the  judgment  rendered,  put  the  house  up  at  auction  and  Father 
Nobili,  the  highest  bidder,  bought  it  for  $50.  Thus  the  college 
was  at  last  legally  his  after  a  year  of  ceaseless  worry  and  ex- 
pense; but  neither  worry  nor  expense  were  yet  to  end  for  what 
Father  Accolti  had  rightly  called  "A  College  of  Sorrows." 
Only  a  week  was  to  pass  before  Father  Veyret  would  close  the 
establishment;  and  once  closed,  it  was  never  to  be  reopened. 
The  following  letter  is  self-explanatory,  and  was  the  bearer  of 
news  which,  while  doubtless  not  unforeseen,  was  certainly  not 
palatable. 

***  "Mission  Dolores,  Oct.  22nd,   1854. 

Reverend  and  dear  Father: 

I  send  you  Victor  and  the  big  Miranda.  If  your  Reverence 
wishes  to  know  the  reasons,  they  are  the  following: 

1st.  As  I  am  alone  here  and  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  be 
frequently  absent,  I  am  forced  to  leave  the  boys  all  by  them- 
selves, a  thing  which  surely  cannot  be  much  to  your  liking. 

2nd.  They  did  not  wish  to  help  me  sufficiently  in  the 
kitchen,  and  in  keeping  the  house  clean;  and  I  am  not  in  the 
humor  to  do  all  the  cleaning  by  myself,  to  bring  them  wood 
and  water,  and  wash  the  dishes,  unless  you  order  me  to  exer- 
cise humility  a  little,  a  virtue  which  is  not  over  strong  in  me. 

3rd.  We  had  six  mouths  to  feed,  and  all  ate  like  ogres; 
and  only  two  paid,  rarely  in  cash  and  often  in  promises.  Now 
you  do  not  wish  me  to  run  up  expenses  to  the  detriment  of 
your  interests. 

I  send  the  others  to  their  homes  for  the  same  reasons,  and 
remain  alone  like  a  hermit,  ready  to  continue  so  for  three  years  if 
you  wish  it,  without  asking  a  cent  of  you,  and  only  begging  a 
mass,  from  time  to  time,  to  buy  a  few  roots. 

If  you  do  not  know  where  to  put  these  two  fine  fellows,  put 
them  in  the  place  that  you  would  have  given  me  had  you  kept 
me  with  you. 

Pray  the  good  God,  I  beg  you,  to  make  me  a  holy  solitary. 
Your  affectionate  servant  in  the  Sacred  Heart, 

F.  Veyret,  S.  J." 


64  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Any  one  that  has  known  the  jovial,  sunny  nature  of  Father 
Veyret  and  his  droll  humor,  will  appreciate  the  spirit  in  which 
his  letter  was  written,  and  his  offer  to  turn  hermit  and  live  on 
roots.  His  humility  would  easily  have  stood  any  demands  made 
upon  it,  had  the  continuance  of  the  college  been  in  any  way 
feasible.  But  disguise  the  fact  as  he  might,  the  fact  was  never- 
theless there,  that  six  healthy,  growing  boys  that  ate  like  ogres, 
could  not  be  fed  even  on  the  fairest  promises,  and  so  the  college 
had  to  close  its  doors.  Another  letter  equally  interesting  was, 
on  the  same  day,  penned  to  Father  Nobili  by  Father  Veyret. 

***  Mission  Dolores,  Oct.   22nd,    1854. 

Dear  Reverend  Father: 

I  have  tried  to  pump  Mr.  Robin  in  order  to  find  out  what 
he  thought  on  the  subject  of  which  you  spoke  to  me.  He 
asked  two  or  three  days  to  think  the  matter  over  before  answer- 
ing how  much  we  would  have  to  give  him  before  he  would 
relinquish  the  part  of  the  property  which  he  holds.  I  foresee 
that  this  will  be  a  considerable  sum. 

In  conversing  with  his  wife  who  is  somewhat  more  sly  and 
glib  of  tongue,  I  have  found  out  something.  She  told  me  that 
they  were  more  than  once  advised  to  make  themselves  inde- 
pendent of  us  and  of  Mr.  Santerre,  the  American  in  question; 
that  they  had  at  least  the  right  to  the  other  side  of  the  garden, 
since  they  had  been  the  sole  possessors  of  it  for  three  years. 

I  urged  your  contract  with  them.  She  answered  that  this 
contract  did  not  specify  limits,  and  spoke  only  of  the  land  known 
as  the  property  of  the  college;  that  this  property  of  the  college 
could  be  understood  as  half  of  the  whole,  because  Father 
Flavian  and  Mr.  Santerre  had  squatted  on  the  land  or  bought 
the  title  of  another  squatter.  Mr.  Santerre  had  one  half  and 
the  college,  the  other  half.  And  as  Mr.  Santerre  had  never 
lived  on  his  half,  they  alone,  if  they  so  wished,  had  the  right 
to  appropriate  it. 

So,  dear  Reverend  Father,  if  they  are  rogues,  I  see  no  other 
way  for  us  to  settle  with  them  than  by  making  a  new  lease  with 
Robin  in  which  he  will  recognize  you  as  owner  of  the  entire 
property.     He  would  accept  the  lease  for  a  specified  time,  pro- 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  6$ 

vided  it  were  sufficiently  long,  say  a  year  and  a  half  or  two 
years.  But  you  cannot  give  him  this  assurance  unless  the 
other  claimants  to  the  land  would,  in  virtue  of  a  preceding 
lease  which  you  would  obtain  from  them,  allow  you  the  use  of 
the  property  for  the  same  fixed  period.  But,  then,  this  very 
lease  would  involve  the  danger  of  recognizing  these  claimants 
as  owners  of  the  land;  so  that  if  their  title  to  the  property  were 
rejected  by  the  commission,  we  would,  at  the  same  time,  forfeit 
our  own.  This  lease,  it  seems  to  me,  ought  to  contain  a  clause 
which  would  obviate  the  danger.  If  all  this  were  done  in  due 
and  proper  form,  it  might,  I  believe,  guarantee  you  your  rights. 
But  you  can  discuss  this  matter  with  some  lawyer,  for  I  know 
nothing  of  law. 

Yours  most  affectionately, 

F.  Veyretv,   S.  J. 

P.  S. — Four  or  five  hours  after  writing  my  letter,  I  had  to 
break  the  seal,  to  let  you  know  that  Madame  Robin,  whom 
her  husband  had  consulted,  came  to  tell  me  that  he  would  not 
sell  you  his  vegetables,  nor  give  the  place  up  to  you,  since  it 
belonged  neither  to  him  nor  to  you,  but  to  Mr.  Santerre,  who 
had  placed  him  there  and  who  ordered  him  to  improve  the 
land  until  further  notice:  that  the  agreement  which  he  had 
made  with  you,  did  not  regard  and  could  not  regard  anything 
but  the  part  belonging  to  the  college. 

So  that  this  answer  changes  the  whole  aspect  of  affairs.  It 
is  very  probable  that  they  will  also  refuse  to  recognize  Mr. 
Santerre.  They  have  as  much  right  as  he  has;  and  every  one 
for  his  own  interests." 

We  doubt  whether  our  readers  have  recognized  in  the  Mr. 
Santerre  of  Father  Veyret  and  Madame  Robin,  the  American 
John  Center,  who  in  1851,  with  Hollinshead,  had  squatted  on 
the  land.  Yet  so  it  is.  Santerre  is  the  phonetic  French  of 
Center.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  though  Mr.  Center  had 
never  personally  lived  upon  the  land,  he  had  placed  Robin  and 
wife  there  to  safeguard  his  interests,  for  Robin  in  1854  speaks 
of  three  years'  occupancy.  How  the  affair  of  the  lease  was  set- 
tled with  the  latter  we  are  left  in  ignorance,  but,  on  November 


66  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

nth,  the  desired  lease  was  an  accomplished  fact.  It  was  made 
between  Robin  and  Father  Veyret  On  January  3rd,  1855,  the 
brick  building,  for  a  nominal  sum,  was  leased  to  William  Smith. 

Doubtless,  Father  Nobili  would  now  have  driven  all 
thoughts  of  Mission  Dolores  from  his  mind,  and  stopped  a 
drain  on  his  purse  which,  he  himself  has  told  us,  threatened  to 
bankrupt  him,  but  things  were  to  be  otherwise.  On  March 
7th  the  roof  needed  repairing,  and  this  called  for  $130;  other 
incidental  expenses  ran  the  bill  up  to  $184,  which  the  good 
Father  paid  as  best  he  could,  for  as  he  tells  lawyer  Hart,  the 
parents  of  pupils  who  owed  him  money  would  not  even  answer 
his  letters.  Thus  did  brave  Father  Nobili  labor  and  suffer, 
until  a  premature  death  by  lockjaw  on  March  1st,  1856,  ended  a 
life  of  piety  and  zeal.  For  him  the  vicissitudes  of  life  were 
over;  not  so  for  the  purchase  which  had  added  so  many  jewels 
to  his  crown. 

On  November  22nd,  1862,  John  Center  sold  to  Wm.  Scott 
the  portion  leased  by  Robin,  and  containing  about  four  and 
one-half  acres,  claiming  the  property  in  virtue  of  joint  owner- 
ship with  Hollinshead.  The  case  was  taken  to  court  and 
decided  in  Center's  favor;  so  that  in  spite  of  Father  Nobili's 
prudent  foresight,  the  more  valuable  part  of  the  property  passed 
out  of  the  hands  of  his  successors.  The  partition  of  the  prop- 
erty took  place  November  28th,  1865. 

The  brick  building,  the  original  cause  of  all  the  trouble, 
never  came  to  any  good.  Neglected,  it  fell  into  decay,  and,  we 
are  told,  was  ultimately  destroyed  by  fire. 

What  bricks  remained  disappeared  little  by  little,  according 
as  thrifty  neighbors  found  use  for  them,  and  even  the  memory 
of  Father  Flavian's  college  has  become  a  thing  of  the  forgotten 
past. 

After  the  partition  of  the  property,  the  portion  still  remain- 
ing to  Santa  Clara  College,  as  successor  to  Father  Nobili,  was 
by  various  agreements  brought  into  conformity  with  adjacent 
streets :  Fourteenth  Street  was  run  through  it,  as  was  also  Walter 
Street  from  Fourteenth  to  Thirteenth.  A  portion  of  this  prop- 
erty was  sold  in  the  early  Nineties,  and  the  remainder  was  dis- 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  67 

posed  of  by  a  recent  sale,  in  order  to  enable  Santa  Clara  College 
to  supply  itself  with  a  new  home.  As  will  be  seen  in  the  views 
presented,  neat  residences  have  sprung  up  as  if  by  magic  on 
the  spot,  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  others  are  now  linked  around 
it,  and  nothing  remains  to  call  up  the  memories  of  the  past; 
but  we  gladly  give  in  our  pages  a  place  to  the  story  of  the 
"College  of  Sorrows,"  for  if  less  successful  than  the  second 
foundation,  the  present  St.  Ignatius,  it  was  the  fruit  of  similar 
zeal  and  equal  sacrifice. 


CHAPTER   III. 

SegumuupB:    IS55--ISB2. 

Having  in  the  foregoing  chapters  set  forth  the  right  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus  to  a  home  in  the  Archdiocese ;  and  having  traced, 
so  far  as  documents  would  permit,  the  birth,  infancy  and  prema- 
ture death  of  the  college  at  Mission  Dolores,  we  are  now  pre- 
pared to  take  up  the  story  of  the  present  institution,  destined  in 
the  designs  of  Providence  for  a  happier  fate. 

The  man  marked  out  to  begin  the  work  was  Father  Anthony 
Maraschi,  S.  J.,  and  to  him  was  granted  the  grace,  given  to  so 
few,  of  seeing  the  happy  completion  of  his  project,  before,  ripe 
with  the  merits  of  long  years  of  toil,  he  was  to  lay  down  the  bur- 
den he  had  so  worthily  helped  to  bear.  The  task  of  establishing 
a  church  and  college  in  San  Francisco  in  the  early  Fifties  called 
for  maturity  of  judgment,  since  the  selection  of  site  was  of  para- 
mount importance.  It  required  tireless  energy,  for  difficulties 
were  manifold  and  great.  It  demanded  a  firm  will  and  a  heart 
unshaken  in  its  trust  in  Providence;  and  it  found  these  to  the 
full  in  that  patient  soul  that  could  work  and  wait  in  trustfulness 
and  prayer,  doing  to-day  all  that  the  present  hour  permitted,  and 
confidingly  leaving  to  the  morrow  the  accomplishment  of  all  that 
the  present  day  denied. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  staff  of  Loyola  College,  Baltimore, 
where  for  two  years  he  had  professed  mental  philosophy,  when 
the  order  reached  him  to  depart  for  California's  distant  shores. 
The  Turin  Province,  to  which  he  belonged,  had,  as  we  have  seen, 
accepted  charge  of  the  Mission,  and,  naturally,  despatched  first 
of  all  to  the  new  field  of  labor,  such  of  its  members  as  were 
already  in  America,  seeing  that  these  were  the  nearest  and  best 
fitted  to  promote  the  work.  Father  Maraschi  left  Baltimore  on 
September  27th,  1854,  and  journeyed  to  New  York.  Here  he 
was  joined  by  Father  Charles  Messea,  who,  the  preceding  schol- 
astic year,  had  taught  chemistry  in  the  University  of  St.  Louis, 
and  had  zealously  employed  himself  in  the  works  of  the  ministry. 
A  third  completed  the  band  in  the  person  of  Father  Aloysius 

69 


yo  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Masnata,  a  finished  classical  scholar,  who  had  taught  rhetoric 
with  success  to  the  Jesuit  students  at  Frederick,  Maryland. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  after  bidding  farewell  to  their 
Brethren,  many  of  whom  would  gladly  have  joined  them  in 
their  pioneer  expedition  to  the  Golden  West,  they  were  soon 
steaming  out  of  the  harbor  of  New  York  and  ploughing  the 
stormy  Atlantic  on  their  way  to  Aspinwall.  Over  the  Isthmus  in 
company  with  a  throng  of  restless  gold-seekers  they  traveled, 
and  soon  were  out  on  the  bosom  of  the  broad  Pacific,  with  prow 
pointing  northward  to  their  future  home.  The  voyage  was 
uneventful,  and  on  November  ist  the  steamship,  in  all  the  pride 
of  steamships  of  these  early  days,  entering  at  the  Golden  Gate, 
swept  on  past  the  Presidio  and  the  low-lying  shore  between  it  and 
North  Point,  until,  rounding  Telegraph  Hill,  it  anchored  in  front 
of  San  Francisco. 

Father  Maraschi  and  his  companions,  therefore,  were  only 
some  ten  days'  journey  by  sea  from  their  destination,  when 
Father  Veyret,  convinced  that  a  diet  of  roots,  paid  for,  was  much 
more  to  his  taste  than  one  more  pretentious,  but  to  purchase  which 
he  received  from  his  pupils  nothing  but  empty  promises,  dis- 
persed his  six  ogres  and  closed  the  classic  halls  of  Mission 
Dolores.  Doubtless  he  knew  nothing  of  the  coming  addition  to 
the  number  of  Jesuits  in  California,  or  he  would  have  at  least 
deferred  action.  As  it  was,  the  Fathers  on  their  arrival,  found 
the  Society  of  Jesus  without  a  residence  in  San  Francisco. 

On  landing,  the  band  separated.  Fathers  Masnata  and 
Messea  went  to  teach  in  Santa  Clara ;  Father  Maraschi  remained 
in  San  Francisco.  That  Mission  Dolores  and  its  prospects 
had  no  charm  for  him  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  never 
attempted  to  reopen  the  abandoned  establishment.  He  judged 
with  the  other  Fathers,  and  judged  rightly,  that  in  the  educational 
situation  in  1854,  and  for  many  years  afterwards,  one  boarding 
college  for  boys  would  amply  supply  for  the  needs  of  the  northern 
part  of  the  State ;  that  Santa  Clara  afforded  better  facilities  than 
did  Mission  Dolores ;  that  divided  energies  and  increased  expenses 
would  harm  both  institutions  to  the  evident  detriment  of  religion 
and  education;  that  the  prime  need  of  the  future  Queen  City  of 
the  Pacific  would  be  first-class  day  colleges;  and,  consequently, 
towards  the  establishment  of  one  of  these  he  toiled  and  waited 


FATHER  ANTHONY  MARASCHI,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  yi 

in  hopeful  patience,  until  Providence,  in  its  own  sweet  way  and 
time,  would  render  the  project  feasible. 

The  first  appointment  of  Father  Maraschi  in  San  Francisco, 
was  as  assistant  in  St.  Francis  Church,  Vallejo  Street;  and  from 
its  marriage  register  we  learn  that  on  November  19th,  1854,  he 
was  already  engaged  in  the  exercise  of  his  sacred  ministry. 
From  this  date  until  January  1st,  1855,  his  name  is  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  both  baptismal  and  marriage  registers;  for  if 
anything  was  repugnant  to  the  character  of  Father  Maraschi, 
it  was  inactivity. 

1855. 

In  the  very  first  days  of  1855  he  was  transferred  to  St. 
Patrick's  Church  as  assistant  to  Father  Maginnis.  St.  Patrick's  at 
that  time  stood  on  Market  Street  near  Third,  and  was  on  the  west- 
ern outskirts  of  the  city.  Here  for  seven  months  he  labored  zeal- 
ously, as  the  records  from  January  9th  to  July  8th  show,  sparing 
himself  in  nothing,  and  endearing  himself  to  all  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact. 

It  is  true  that  San  Francisco  had  changed  somewhat  from 
earlier  days.  "In  1849,"  says  Hittell  in  his  History  of  San 
Francisco,  page  146,  "the  town  covered  an  area  of  about  half  a 
mile  square,  the  boundaries  being  California,  Powell  and  Val- 
lejo Streets,  and  the  water  line,  which  for  nearly  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  south  of  Jackson  Street  was  near  Montgomery. 
Many  of  the  people  lived  in  tents,  and  most  of  the  remainder 
in  shanties  or  mere  shells  of  houses.  The  tents  and  shanties 
were  in  some  places  built  along  the  sides  of  trails  or  roads  over 
the  hills,  without  regard  to  the  lines  of  the  streets.  The  hill 
from  Vallejo  to  California  Street,  above  Stockton,  had  much 
chaparral.  There  was  no  grading,  planking  or  paving  in  any 
of  the  streets;  nor  was  there  any  wharf  extending  out  to  deep 
water.  There  were  two  small  wharves,  one  about  seventy  feet 
long  between  Sacramento  and  California,  its  outer  end  being 
west  of  Sansome  Street  and  having  five  feet  of  water  at  low 
tide;  the  other  perhaps  thirty  feet  long,  on  Commercial  Street, 
with  not  more  than  two  feet  of  water  at  low  tide  at  its  outer 
end.  This  smaller  wharf  was  used  mainly  for  rowboats.  The 
chief  landing  place,  besides  the  wharves,  was  at  Clark's  Point, 


72  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

near  the  intersection  of  Broadway  and  Battery  Streets,  where 
the  deep  water  came  up  close  to  the  rocky  shore.  The  beach 
along  the  front  of  the  town  was  sticky  mud;  south  of  Pine 
Street  it  was  sand." 

What  Hittell  has  described  in  words,  our  readers  have 
already  had  presented  to  them  in  the  early  views  of  our  city. 
The  accompanying  half-tone  is  from  a  photograph  of  later  date 
but  will  well  illustrate  some  of  the  improvements  of  which  I 
am  about  to  speak. 

Chief  of  these  had  been  the  filling  in  of  this  shallow  bay 
which  had  left  so  little  habitable  land  between  its  shores  and 
the  rugged  hillsides.  First  in  1850  came  the  wharf  building 
era  in  which  Market,  California,  Sacramento,  Clay,  Washing- 
ton, Jackson  and  Pacific  Streets  reached  out  into  the  water  with 
an  aggregate  length  of  6,000  feet.  Then  came  the  era  of 
filling  in. 

"Soon  after  the  wharf  builders  began  their  march  out  into 
the  bay,"  continued  Hittell,  page  165,  "the  graders  started  to 
follow,  crowding  upon  their  heels.  The  first  filling  in  of  a 
water  lot  was  done  by  Captain  Folsom,  on  California  Street, 
west  of  the  site  of  the  present  Bank  of  California;  and  although 
the  work  was  extremely  expensive,  it  was  immediately  recog- 
nized as  a  good  investment,  and  others  imitated  the  example. 
After  the  wharves  were  built  out  on  Clay  and  the  parallel  streets 
into  the  bay,  it  was  found  convenient  to  build  cross  streets  on 
piles,  thus  enclosing  the  blocks,  and  in  more  than  a  score  of 
instances  shutting  in  old  hulks  that  had  long  been  dismantled 
and  had  been  used  as  store-houses.  Of  these  the  Niantic  sub- 
sequently became  the  most  notable.  She  measured  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  tons  and  was  hauled  up  at  high  water  to  the  lot 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  Sansome  and  Clay  Streets.  Her 
masts  were  taken  out,  her  rigging  and  some  of  her  ballast  re- 
moved, piles  were  driven  on  each  side  to  keep  her  from  listing, 
and  she  was  used  for  storing  merchandise." 

A  good  idea  of  the  work  accomplished  may  be  gained  from 
a  map  of  San  Francisco  copied  from  that  of  Josiah  J.  Le  Count 
and  published  in  Wheeler's   Report  on   Land  Titles  in   San 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  73 

Francisco,  Cal.,  1852;  but  great  as  the  improvement  was  in 
itself,  and  justly  proud  of  it  as  the  people  were  in  those  days, 
to  us,  who  at  present  see  a  mighty  city  creeping  up  and  over 
the  distant  hills,  and  reaching  out  toward  the  ocean,  the  exten- 
sion of  five  or  six  blocks  toward  the  water  front,  cannot  seem 
what  it  seemed  to  the  early  pioneers.  The  difference  of  shading 
will  indicate  the  water  lots  and  those  on  the  adjacent  shore. 

But  while  the  city  was  thus  extending  toward  the  east, 
moving  rapidly  on  at  the  imperative  command  of  commerce, 
and  while  both  northward  and  southward  the  residence  portion 
had  somewhat  spread,  the  buildings  on  Kearny  and  Third 
Streets  formed,  in  part,  the  western  boundary  to  the  city's 
population,  for  where  the  two  met,  Market  Street  ended,  and 
beyond  was  the  wilderness  of  sand. 

St.  Francis  Church,  Vallejo  Street,  ministered  to  the  spir- 
itual wants  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  city;  St.  Mary's 
Cathedral  in  1855,  to  those  of  the  central;  St.  Patrick's,  to  those 
of  the  southern;  any  new  church  that  sought  to  establish  itself, 
must  seek  a  location  amid  the  sand  dunes  to  the  west. 

In  a  growing  city,  a  start  cannot  be  made  too  soon.  A 
congregation  may  not  exist,  but  it  can  be  built  up.  So  thought 
Father  Maraschi.  He  therefore  applied  to  His  Grace,  the  Most 
Rev.  Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany,  O.  P.,  for  the  necessary  permission 
to  build  a  church  and  college,  and  received  a  favorable  answer. 
It  is  said  that  when  the  Father  asked  the  Archbishop  to  desig- 
nate the  spot,  His  Grace  answered  with  a  sweep  of  his  hand 
toward  the  unoccupied  lands,  "Any  place  over  there."  This 
was  in  the  spring  of  1855. 

The  choice  of  location  was  soon  made.  Though  Market 
Street,  as  we  have  said,  reached  only  to  Third,  and  the  ever 
shifting  barriers  shut  out,  for  the  time  being,  its  further  progress, 
the  lie  of  the  city  said  plainly  to  the  careful  eye  of  Father 
Maraschi,  "This  street  is  certain  to  be  the  main  artery  of  a  fine 
city.  Time  and  energy  are  needed;  but  time  will  pass  and  the 
needed  energy  will  be  awakened;  here  build  and  wait." 

Outside  San  Francisco  proper,  as  represented  by  its  popu- 
lation, a  lot  therefore  was  chosen.  It  was  a  hundred-vara  lot, 
i.  e.  one  275  feet  square.     It  was  situated  on  the  south  side  of 


74  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Market  Street,  midway  between  Fourth  and  Fifth,  as  shown 
upon  the  city  map,  for  as  yet  these  streets  were  not  graded, 
nor,  in  that  vicinity,  as  yet  open  to  traffic.  The  lot  was  num- 
bered 127  and  owned  by  Thomas  O.  Larkin.  It  was  in  a  hollow 
between  sand  hills,  though  the  narrow  depression  had  been 
dignified  with  the  name  of  St.  Ann's  Valley.  The  width  of 
this  so-called  valley  was  naturally  very  irregular,  owing  to  the 
constant  drifting  of  the  sand.  Sometimes  it  narrowed  greatly 
as  the  piles  of  sand  encroached  upon  it;  sometimes  it  widened 
out  as  on  the  Lick  property  which  extended  east  from  Father 
Maraschi's  purchase  to  Fourth  Street.  To  conceive  the  place, 
however,  as  a  valley  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  is  to 
misconceive  it.  It  was  for  the  most  part  a  comparatively 
narrow  passage  between  the  hills. 

A  deed  was  therefore  drawn  up  on  April  27th,  1855,  in 
which  Thomas  O.  Larkin  and  Rachel  Larkin,  his  wife,  turned 
over  the  property  to  Rev.  Nicholas  Congiato,  Superior  of  the 
Jesuit  Missions  of  California  and  Oregon.  The  transfer  of  the 
property,  however,  did  not  actually  take  place  until  May  1st, 
when  the  price  agreed  upon  was  paid.  The  consideration  stated 
in  the  deed  is  $11,500. 

Father  Maraschi,  who  made  the  purchase,  had  no  money  of 
his  own,  but  Messrs.  Marzion  &  Co.  had;  money  that  in  needed 
quantities  and  at  the  ordinary  rate  of  il/2  per  cent  a  month, 
they  were  willing,  on  good  security,  to  loan  the  Father.  On  this 
1st  of  May,  therefore,  1855,  the  accounts  of  St.  Ignatius  Church 
and  College  were  opened  with  $11,500  of  debt. 

On  the  day  following,  Father  Congiato,  who  had  arrived  on 
the  8th  of  December  previously,  by  a  new  deed,  turned  the 
property  over  to  Father  Maraschi ;  and  happy  that  a  solid  begin- 
ning had  been  made,  he  soon  after  set  out  to  pay  an  official  visit 
to  the  northern  Missions. 

What  order  or  orders  of  architecture  should  be  employed 
in  the  construction  of  the  new  buildings  was  not  a  matter  that, 
in  these  early  times,  bothered  Father  Maraschi;  a  plain  gable 
roof  on  four  plain  walls,  neat  and  decent  in  every  particular, 
formed  the  common  type  of  all  the  buildings,  and  soon  lumber 
was  on  the  ground,  and  the  work  on  the  church  commenced. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  75 

What  ornamentation  there  was,  was  on  the  front  of  the  church. 
The  15th  of  July  was  selected  for  the  dedication;  the  clergy 
of  the  city  and  vicinity  were  invited ;  His  Grace,  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop,  consented  to  deliver  the  sermon ;  and  crowds  of  the 
faithful  trudged  over  the  sand  hills,  beneath  the  warm  summer 
sun,  to  show  their  appreciation  of  energy  which  was  undaunted 
by  difficulties.  A  newspaper  of  the  day  contains  the  following 
account  of  the  ceremony: 

***    "DEDICATION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS. 

The  impressive  ceremony  of  the  blessing  of  the  church  of 
St.  Ignatius,  on  Market  Street  between  Fourth  and  Fifth 
Streets,  took  place  last  Sunday.  An  impressive  sermon  was 
delivered  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Alemany,  who  referred  to  the 
services  of  the  Jesuits  157  years  ago.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  first  occupation  of  California  by  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment was  in  1683;  and  that  afterwards  in  1697,  Father  J.  M.  de 
Salvatierra,  Francis  M.  Piccolo  and  Father  Kino  became  the 
pioneers  of  the  cross  upon  these  shores,  and  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing several  missions." 

The  name  of  the  paper  from  which  the  above  is  taken  does 
not  accompany  the  clipping  which  we  have  transcribed;  hence 
we  are  unable  to  refer  the  information  to  its  source.  Another 
paper  contains  the  following  more  complete  and  elaborate 
account : 

***     "dedication  of  a  new  catholic  church. 

On  Sunday  last,  the  new  Catholic  Church  of  St.  Ignatius, 
near  the  junction  of  Stockton  and  Market  Streets,  was  solemnly 
opened  for  divine  service.  It  is  a  frame  building  about  seventy- 
five  feet  long  by  thirty-five  feet  wide,  and  presents  a  neat  and 
tasteful  appearance.  It  is  plastered  on  the  inside  and  fitted  up 
with  pews  which  can  accommodate  nearly  four  hundred  persons. 
There  is  also  a  small  gallery. 

The  ceremony  of  dedication  was  performed  by  the  Most 
Rev.  Archbishop  Alemany,  D.  D.,  assisted  by  Revs.  John  Nobili, 
S.  J.,  D.  Salari,  S.  J.,  U.  Grassi,  S.  J.,  J.  Caredda,  S.  J.,  and  the 
pastor  of  the  church,  A.  Maraschi,  S.  J. 

After  the  dedication,  High  Mass  was  celebrated,  accom- 
panied by  very  fine  music,   and  the  Most   Rev.   Archbishop 


?6  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

delivered  an  impressive  discourse  in  which  he  spoke  in  the 
most  eulogistic  terms  of  the  zeal  and  labors  of  the  Jesuits  in 
propagating  the  gospel  throughout  every  part  of  the  world, 
but  more  especially  in  California.  He  expatiated  on  their 
labors,  and  took  occasion  to  animadvert  on  the  ingratitude 
that  they  received,  and  the  myriad  calumnies  with  which  they 
were  assailed  by  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  while  engaged  in 
extending  the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  But  in  this  respect,  said 
the  Archbishop,  they  do  not  fare  worse  than  their  Crucified 
Lord  whose  example  they  follow  'in  going  about  doing  good.' 
There  was  a  large  attendance  on  the  occasion,  a  consider- 
able portion  of  whom  were  ladies.  Mass  will  be  celebrated  in 
the  church  every  morning  except  Sunday,  at  6  and  half  past  7 
o'clock;  and  on  Sundays  at  the  usual  hours.  Vespers  will  be 
sung  every  Sunday  at  half  past  5  in  the  afternoon.  The  pastor, 
Rev.  A.  Maraschi,  speaks  the  English,  French,  Spanish,  Italian 
and  German  languages." 

The  first  assistant  of  Father  Maraschi  was  Father  Joseph 
Bixio,  though  we  have  been  unable  to  ascertain  the  exact  date 
when  the  appointment  was  made.  We  think  that  it  was  shortly 
after  the  blessing  of  the  church.  Father  Bixio  had  arrived  in 
California  in  the  early  part  of  July  in  company  with  Fathers 
Joseph  Caredda,  Urban  Grassi  and  Alphonsus  Biglione.  The 
last  three  were  attached  to  the  faculty  of  Santa  Clara;  Father 
Bixio  was  assigned  to  St.  Ignatius. 

Three  months  have  quickly  sped  by  and  residence  and 
college  are  completed,  or  perhaps  we  should  say,  residence 
and  academy,  for  it  is  under  this  name  that  we  first  find  the 
latter  advertised.  It  was  a  plain  but  decent  frame  building 
situated  behind  the  church  and  about  twenty  feet  from  it.  In 
length,  the  academy  was  about  forty  feet;  and  in  width,  about 
twenty-five  or  thirty  feet;  and  consisted  of  one  large  room. 
Mr.  John  Haley,  a  young  Irishman,  constituted  its  first  staff 
of  professors.  The  institution  opened  its  doors  for  the  recep- 
tion of  pupils  on  Monday,  October  15th,  1855,  anc*  on  that  day 
we  find  Richard  McCabe  enrolled  as  the  first  pupil.  Other 
pupils  doubtless  there  were,  but  record  of  them  has  perished. 
With    the    multiplicity    of   duties    that    pressed    upon    Father 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  yy 

Maraschi,  we  can  only  be  astonished  that  he  has  left  us  any 
record  at  all  of  the  happenings  of  those  busy  days;  but  it  may 
be,  too,  that  in  the  change  and  rechange  of  residence  and 
church,  and  in  the  various  cleaning-up  processes  in  which  what 
seems  to  be  old  rubbish  finds  its  way  into  the  fire,  much  that 
Father  Maraschi  had  set  down,  may  have  been  unwittingly 
destroyed  or  lost. 

The  residence  consisted  of  two  rooms  and  a  kitchen,  with 
a  low  garret  running  the  whole  length  of  the  house.  It  was 
somewhat  back  from  the  line  of  Market  Street,  and  westward 
of  church  and  academy.  In  it  lived  Fathers  Maraschi,  Bixio 
and  Brother  Isabella;  Mr.  Haley  had  more  palatial  quarters  in 
the  schoolroom. 

The  catalogue  of  the  Turin  Province  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus  puts  down  both  Father  Bixio  and  Father  Accolti  as 
assistants  to  Father  Maraschi.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether 
both  were  ever  helpers  at  the  same  time.  Father  Bixio  con- 
tinued to  assist  in  St.  Ignatius  until  January  23rd,  1856,  at 
which  date  he  was  transferred  to  Santa  Clara.  Before  this,  we 
have  no  record  of  Father  Accolti  as  assistant  pastor  at  the  little 
church  on  Market  Street,  but  soon  after,  mention  of  him  is 
frequent. 

On  March  2nd,  he  went  from  the  city  to  Santa  Clara  to  attend 
the  funeral  of  his  old  friend  and  companion,  Father  Nobili,  and 
returned  to  his  field  of  labor  on  the  5th.  On  the  17th  of  the 
month,  he  and  Brother  Albert  Weyringer  were  witnesses  at  a 
marriage  performed  by  Father  Maraschi;  and  so  on,  date  after 
date  could  be  given,  proving  his  residence  in  San  Francisco. 

While  Father  Bixio  was  assistant  to  Father  Maraschi,  he 
attended  the  Mission  station  at  Redwood  City ;  and  probably  the 
greater  nearness  of  this  place  to  Santa  Clara  was  one  of  the  deter- 
mining motives  for  his  removal  to  Santa  Clara  early  in  1856. 

1856. 
On  the  9th  of  January  of  this  year,  Brother  Albert  Weyringer, 
who,  thank  God,  is  still  with  us  to  give  us  an  account  of  the 
infancy  of  church  and  college,  became  a  member  of  the  little 
community  on  Market  Street,  leaving  it  again  for  Santa  Clara  on 
May  23rd,  following. 


78  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

"We  lived,"  he  says,  "in  a  hole  surrounded  by  sand  hills. 
Towards  the  city,  which  was  some  distance  to  the  east,  and  from 
which  we  were  cut  off  by  barriers  of  sand,  there  was  but  one 
house,  and  that  the  shanty  of  a  milkman  on  the  adjoining  lot. 
Westward  there  was  the  Lincoln  School  standing  out  consider- 
ably into  what  is  now  Market  Street,  but  during  my  residence  in 
St.  Ignatius  the  buildings  were  unoccupied. 

Behind  us  rose  a  sand  hill  which  sloped  again  towards  Mis- 
sion Street,  and  served  as  neutral  territory  between  our  college 
and  a  public  school  which  had  been  built  there.  This  neutral 
ground,  however,  was  often  invaded  from  the  school  mentioned, 
for  a  Jesuit  in  cap  and  cassock  was  a  rare  object  of  curiosity  to 
the  children  of  those  days  in  San  Francisco ;  and,  perched  on  the 
hilltop,  they  surveyed  the  scene  below,  making  Father  Maraschi 
the  butt  of  many  a  remark,  much  to  the  mortification  of  their 
teacher  who  could  not  repress  their  rudeness. 

The  residence  was  small  and  poor,  and  the  accommodations 
so  scant  that,  for  a  time,  Fathers  Accolti  and  Maraschi  shared 
the  same  room.  But  as,  for  sleeping,  Father  Maraschi  used  only 
a  mattress  which  he  rolled  up  by  day  and  spread  on  the  floor 
by  night,  his  part  of  the  furniture  was  easily  housed.  Brother 
Isabella,  myself  and  a  Frenchman  named  Pierre,  an  old  soldier 
of  Napoleon's  army,  a  good  old  man  whom  Father  Maraschi 
had  taken  in  out  of  charity,  occupied  rude  bunks  in  the  attic. 

The  church  was  of  wood,  but  plain  and  neat.  At  its  south- 
west corner  and  near  the  door  of  the  sacristy  was  a  rude  frame- 
work about  ten  feet  high,  which  supported  the  church  bell.  In 
the  church  was  a  single  altar,  simple  and  plain  as  befitted  its 
surroundings,  but  always  neat  and  beautiful,  bright  with  the 
wealth  of  wild  flowers  that  outside  the  building  grew  on  every 
hand. 

One  day,  in  rambling  over  the  hills,  I  came  upon  a  pretty 
plant  whose  species  was  unknown  to  me.  It  was  of  a  glossy 
green  and  seemed  by  nature  a  climber.  How  much  it  will  add 
to  the  beauty  of  the  church,  I  thought,  if  I  train  it  along  the  wall, 
and  arch  it  over  door  and  windows.  Carefully,  then,  not  to 
injure  its  tender  roots,  I  dug  it  out  of  the  soft  sand ;  and  bore  it 
home  in  all  the  pride  of  original  discovery.     I  planted  it  by  the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  79 

sacristy  door.  I  knew  that  Father  Maraschi  would  see  it.  I 
knew,  at  least  I  thought  I  knew,  that  he  would  commend  my 
diligence.  I  waited  for  his  approbation.  Waited?  Well,  yes,  I 
am  still  waiting  for  that.  He  saw  the  plant ?  Surely.  Its  beauty? 
He  did.  Had  he  no  taste  for  pretty  plants?  Well,  not  exactly 
for  such  as  the  present  object  of  my  care;  for  that  plant  of  the 
glossy  leaves  was  the  common  poison  oak,  and  it  was  soon  at 
a  safe  distance  withering  in  the  sun.  Appearances  even  in  Cali- 
fornia are  at  times  deceitful. 

On  Sundays,  Father  Accolti  was  accustomed  to  say  the  first 
mass,  and  Father  Maraschi  the  last,  and  preach.  The  ordinary 
Sunday  attendance  was  rather  poor;  attendance,  however,  dur- 
ing Holy  Week  was  striking,  and  I  wondered  where  all  the  people 
came  from. 

The  college  was  not  a  success  in  those  early  days,  and  few 
pupils  attended  the  classes;  so  that  about  February,  classes  were 
interrupted,  and  Brother  Isabella  and  I  enjoyed  more  spacious 
quarters  in  the  schoolroom.  He  was  cook  and  attended  to 
domestic  duties;  I  was  for  out-door  work.  My  chief  occupation 
consisted  in  cutting  a  road  through  the  sand  behind  the  house, 
the  intention  being  to  establish  communication  with  Mission 
Street.  My  labor  was  quite  successful  for  a  time,  and  even  the 
strong  winds  which  at  that  season  prevailed,  kindly  gave  me 
valuable  assistance ;  for  all  that  was  required  was  to  lift  the  sand 
with  my  shovel  and  toss  it  into  the  air,  and  presently  it  was 
scattered  far  and  wide  to  my  intense  pleasure. 

I  had  gotten  indeed  to  like  the  wind  and  even  to  look  on  it, 
in  a  manner,  as  a  partner  in  my  toil,  when  all  of  a  sudden  the 
rude  awakening  came.  One  night  this  very  wind  which  had 
dealt  with  me  so  kindly,  came  in  great  gusts  from  the  ocean. 
How  it  howled  and  shrieked  around  our  little  buildings,  which 
rocked  under  its  rude  touch,  as  it  hurried  by!  And  my  road? 
The  wind  came,  and  went — and  my  road  with  it.  Morning 
showed  an  unbroken  hillside  beneath  which  my  planks  were 
buried,  and  I  was  out  of  a  job,  since  it  was  evident  that  so  long  as 
the  hill  remained,  no  matter  what  labor  might  be  expended,  the 
permanency  of  the  road  could  never  be  assured. 

But  I  was  not  the  only  sufferer.  The  church  touched  the 
south  line  of  Market  Street,  and  so  protruded  somewhat  further 


80  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

than  the  residence.  To  the  west,  therefore,  of  the  church  and  in 
front  of  the  residence,  extended  for  a  short  distance  a  narrow 
strip  of  level  land  which  Father  Maraschi  and  Brother  Isabella 
divided  between  them,  the  former  cultivating  a  few  flowers;  the 
latter,  some  kitchen  vegetables.  The  wind  treated  us  all  alike. 
What  plants  it  failed  to  uproot,  it  covered  with  heaps  of  sand; 
and  Father  Maraschi  and  Brother  Isabella,  like  myself,  had  to 
turn  their  energies  into  other  channels. 

Living  thus,  as  in  a  desert,  an  almost  unbroken  stillness 
reigned  around  us,  so  that  even  the  stir  and  excitement  attending 
the  days  of  the  Vigilance  Committee  did  not  reach  us.  There 
was  only  the  hurried  departure  of  the  Fathers  as  some  call  came 
for  their  spiritual  ministrations,  and  again  the  same  quiet  settled 
down,  as  if  it  expected  here  to  rule  forever. 

Though  I  have  tried  to  recall  houses  to  the  west  of  us,  mem- 
ory presents  but  the  Lincoln  School,  of  which  I  have  already 
spoken;  but  to  the  northwest,  in  a  little  valley  shut  in  by  pre- 
cipitous hills,  I  remember  three.  Beyond  these  again  was  the 
wilderness  and  the  waste  of  sand." 

Such  were  the  buildings  and  such  the  surroundings  and  hap- 
penings in  these  early  days  as  related  by  an  eye  witness. 

We  present  the  scene  to  our  readers.  The  church  is  an  exact 
copy  of  an  early  photograph,  the  rest  is  drawn  from  Brother 
Weyringer's  description.  That  the  reproduction  is  true  to  the 
original,  we  have  the  testimony  of  Mr.  James  R.  Kelly,  who 
attended  St.  Ignatius  in  its  earliest  days.  In  this,  as  in  the  pres- 
entation of  Father  Flavian's  college,  we  have  availed  ourselves 
of  the  art  of  Mr.  Michael  O'Sullivan.  We  shall  also,  in  present- 
ing the  college  at  a  later  date,  have  recourse  to  the  same  assist- 
ance. But  let  us  retrace  our  steps  to  1856.  Though  church  and 
school  and  residence  had  been  built,  they  were  not  entirely  paid 
for,  seeing  that  Marzion  &  Co.,  on  December  1st,  1855,  were 
called  upon  to  lend  an  additional  sum  of  $3,100  at  the  usual 
rate  of  iy2  per  cent  a  month — money  more  easily  borrowed 
than  repaid. 

The  congregation,  as  has  been  stated,  was  rather  meager; 
and  Mr.  James  R.  Kelly,  the  present  Prefect  of  the  Gentlemen's 
Sodality,  recalls  occasions  on  which  an  omnibus  could  have 
accommodated  the  worshipers  at  mass.     At  vespers  the  attend- 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  81 

ance  was  even  smaller,  and  once  it  appears  that  he  made  up  the 
whole  congregation.  Father  Maraschi,  however,  was  not  dis- 
heartened. He  knew  that,  with  patience,  time  would  reverse 
all  this.  He  had  not  planned  for  the  present  but  for  the  future, 
and,  calmly  gazing  into  it,  he  said  over  and  over  again :  "Here, 
in  time,  will  be  the  heart  of  a  great  city." 

What  Brother  Weyringer  has  told  us  of  the  smallness  of  the 
number  of  pupils,  is  borne  out  by  Father  Maraschi's  accounts, 
for  from  the  opening  of  the  college  in  October  up  to  the  end  of 
the  year,  he  received  only  $106  in  tuition  fees.  The  average, 
therefore,  for  these  two  months  and  a  half  was  $42.40  a  month. 
This  would  probably  mean  an  attendance  of  from  twenty  to 
twenty-five  pupils ;  since,  though  some  students  would  pay  in  full, 
and  some  would  pay  in  part,  others  would  be  received  free,  the 
rule  of  admission  in  St.  Ignatius  having  ever  been  the  rule  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus  in  day  colleges,  that  those  who  are  unable 
to  pay  tuition  fees,  are  received  and  cared  for,  just  as  those  who 
are  able. 

In  the  church  the  choir  was  early  established,  if  one  singer 
can  properly  be  said  to  constitute  a  choir.  He  was  a  French- 
man and  dispensed  plain  chant,  whether  pure  Gregorian  or  a  modi- 
fied species  of  his  own,  we  are  not  informed.  The  choir  loft  was 
over  the  main  entrance  and  soon  had  a  harmonium.  The  first 
organist  was  Mr.  Anthony  Schmidt,  whose  name  we  find  con- 
nected with  the  choir  as  early  as  July,  1856. 

With  a  clearness  of  mind  deserving  of  all  commendation,  the 
Fathers  understood  that  the  great  need  of  a  population  such  as 
that  which  was  bound  to  come  together  on  these  distant  shores, 
men  of  all  religions  and  of  no  religion,  would  be  books  in  which 
the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church  would  be  defended  and 
explained.  In  May,  1856,  therefore,  a  Library  Association  was 
started  under  favorable  auspices. 

The  interruption  of  studies  in  the  college  did  not  last  long, 
for  again,  in  May,  we  have  an  account  of  new  students  admitted, 
and  thenceforward  the  increase  in  numbers  was  steady  and  rapid. 
There  was,  as  yet,  but  one  teacher,  probably  the  same  Mr.  Haley, 
to  whom,  as  revealed  by  Father  Maraschi's  accounts,  $200  were 
paid  at  the  end  of  July. 


82  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

The  coming  and  going  of  worshipers  attending  the  church, 
the  visits  of  parents  who  had  sons  to  place  at  school,  the  constant 
journeyings  of  the  children  themselves,  soon  called  for  easier 
means  of  access.  We  are,  therefore,  not  surprised  to  learn  that, 
in  June,  a  sidewalk  was  talked  of,  and  Father  Maraschi  was 
requested  to  contribute  towards  it.  Where  the  sidewalk  was  to 
be  we  are  left  to  conjecture.  It  was  not,  as  might  be  supposed,  a 
sidewalk  to  be  built  in  front  of  the  church  and  residence  of  the 
Fathers,  for,  as  yet,  the  street  was  not  graded.  Besides,  as  such 
sidewalk  would  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  Fathers  and  their  insti- 
tution alone,  since  there  was  no  one  else  to  benefit  by  it,  it  would 
scarcely  be  a  matter  for  subscription.  The  sidewalk  in  question, 
therefore,  was  a  matter  of  general  utility,  in  the  construction 
of  which  others  concurred. 

Conjecture  under  the  circumstances,  however,  becomes  closely 
allied  to  certainty,  when  we  identify  the  sidewalk  in  question 
as  that  which  ran  up  Stockton  Street  to  O'Farrell,  and  along 
O'Farrell  to  Dupont;  on  Dupont  to  Sutter,  and  thence  east  to 
Montgomery;  a  very  primitive  affair,  but  quite  in  keeping  with 
surroundings  which  were  all  primitive.  When  we  speak  of  Stock- 
ton Street,  we  are  aware  that  we  are  dignifying  a  mere  depres- 
sion between  hills  of  sand  with  the  name  of  street.  But  it  was 
so  designated  on  the  maps  of  San  Francisco,  and  was  the  only 
opening  through  which  vehicles  could  make  their  way  into  the 
quaint  little  valley.  We  have  spoken  of  sidewalk  and  called  it 
primitive.  It  could  scarcely  have  been  more  so,  for  it  consisted 
of  some  planks  laid  one  after  another  along  the  shifting  sand. 
Yet  it  was  a  great  convenience,  more  so,  indeed,  than  can  per- 
haps be  at  present  imagined. 

To  one  who  has  never  trudged  through  sand,  and  who  to-day, 
over  modern  sidewalks,  would  retrace  the  course  marked  out  by 
the  line  of  planks  in  1856,  the  journey  must  needs  seem  insignifi- 
cant; then,  it  was  far  otherwise,  especially  in  winter,  when  the 
sudden  tipping  up  of  the  plank  gave  tardy  warning  to  the  way- 
farer that  the  recent  downpour  had  robbed  it  of  needed  support, 
and  that  due  caution  must  be  taken  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of 
the  mishap. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  83 

The  work  of  the  church  and  college  broadened  day  by  day, 
but  resources  were  scant  and  imperatively  demanded  the  strictest 
economy. 

The  debt  of  July,  1855,  which  amounted  to  $15,084.08  was 
nearly  $20,000  in  December.  As  stipends  for  masses  during  this 
time,  Father  Maraschi  had  received  $134.50.  His  revenue  from 
pew  rent  was  $62.50.  Collections  in  the  church  amounted  to 
$410.13,  but  this  sum  included  the  more  than  ordinary  collections 
taken  up  at  the  blessing  of  the  edifice  and  on  Christmas  Day.  A 
fair  estimate  of  the  ordinary  Sunday  collection  would  be  about 
$10  or  $12.  In  tuition  fees  he  had  received  $106,  but  had  paid  out 
in  incidental  expenses  about  $46,  the  transaction  thus  seeming  to 
net  him  about  $60.  But  this  amount  was  far  from  being  profit, 
since  it  did  not  cover  by  half  the  wages  of  the  hired  teacher.  The 
college,  therefore,  if  we  may  so  name  this  early  beginning,  was 
managed  at  a  loss.  Moreover,  the  building  of  the  school  and  its 
furnishing  were  the  fruit  of  borrowed  money  which  called  for 
a  high  rate  of  interest ;  so  that  we  may  easily  appreciate  the  diffi- 
culties of  those  days  of  trial  when  we  are  informed  that  Father 
Maraschi  paid  in  interest  alone  between  July,  1855,  and  January, 
1856,  $1,489,  or  about  double  the  gross  receipts  of  that  period. 
He  who  pays  out  two  dollars  to  take  in  one,  and  who  has  only 
what  he  takes  in  as  means  of  support  for  himself,  his  fellow- 
workers,  and  the  institution  under  his  care,  has  a  delicate  finan- 
cial problem  to  wrestle  with,  even  if  the  solution  be  so  plain  and 
easy — borrow  more. 

The  programme  of  studies  in  the  academy  was,  from  the 
very  beginning,  as  broad  as  the  age  and  capacity  of  the  pupils 
would  permit.  French  and  Spanish  were  taught,  and  even  as 
early  as  1856  a  class  of  drawing  was  established.  The  professor 
of  this  latter  branch  was  a  certain  Mr.  McLaughlin,  who,  more- 
over, taught  a  regular  class  up  to  February  2nd,  1857.  On  that 
date  his  class  duties  were  assumed  by  Mr.  William  McGill  Barry. 

1857. 

The  increase  in  pupils  in  1856  and  the  opening  days  of  1857, 
had  already  necessitated  the  employment  of  another  teacher,  Mr. 
Peter  J.  Molloy. 


84  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Mr.  Molloy  began  his  connection  with  the  college  on  Janu- 
ary 23rd  of  this  latter  year,  and  taught  with  much  success  up  to 
the  end  of  August.  On  September  1st,  he  entered  the  Society  of 
Jesus  in  Santa  Clara,  the  first  candidate  for  the  Jesuit  priesthood 
in  the  Californian  Mission.  Almighty  God,  however,  had  not 
destined  him  for  length  of  days  upon  earth.  Three  months 
passed,  and  failing  health  obliged  him  to  return  to  San  Fran- 
cisco.    Here  on  December  20th  he  peacefuly  passed  away. 

With  the  advent  of  1857,  had  come  the  urgent  need  of  room 
for  Fathers  and  pupils,  and  about  the  middle  of  April,  the  dwell- 
ing-house was  raised.  On  the  29th  of  the  same  month,  an  adver- 
tisement in  the  daily  papers  gave  notice  that  an  additional  teacher 
was  required  in  the  academy,  an  excellent  index  of  life  and 
progress.  On  the  same  day,  Father  Congiato  departed  on  his 
annual  visit  to  the  northern  Missions  in  Oregon  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  He  knew  that  his  brethren  toiling  in  the  then  dis- 
tant wilds  would  inquire  about  matters  and  prospects  in  Cali- 
fornia; and  he  was  happy  to  be  the  bearer  of  the  information 
that  St.  Ignatius  was  steadily  increasing  in  the  number  of  its 
classes,  and  promised  much  for  the  Catholic  future  of  San 
Francisco. 

During  vacation  this  year,  Father  Benedict  Piccardo,  who 
had  been  Father  Maraschi's  zealous  co-laborer  since  May  31st, 
1856,  was  transferred  to  Santa  Clara  as  professor  of  classics,  and 
Father  Emmanuel  Nattini  was  appointed  his  successor.  This 
appointment  offered  the  energy  and  zeal  of  Father  Nattini  a  wider 
field  than  the  office  of  Minister  in  Santa  Clara  College,  which 
office  he  had  successfully  filled  the  preceding  year;  for,  besides 
the  spiritual  ministry  of  the  church,  in  which  he  was  indefatiga- 
ble, he  was  singing  teacher  in  the  academy  and  professor  of 
French.  Idleness  surely  had  no  place  in  St.  Ignatius,  and  busy 
as  others  were,  Father  Maraschi  was  busiest  of  all.  Superior, 
treasurer,  parish  priest,  with  duties  sufficient  to  afford  occupation 
to  several  men,  he  yet  found  time  to  teach  Latin  and  Spanish. 
On  August  9th,  Father  Congiato  again  found  himself  on 
Californian  soil,  having  returned  from  Oregon  in  company  with 
Brother  Natalis  Savio.  A  week's  rest  in  San  Francisco  allowed 
him  to  recover  somewhat  from  the  fatigues  of  his  journey,  and, 
on  the  17th,  he  and  the  Brother  departed  for  Santa  Clara.     On 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  85 

the  preceding  day,  Father  Felix  Cicaterri  had  assumed  charge 
of  Santa  Clara  College,  and  Father  Congiato  rightly  judged  that 
the  best  interests  of  the  Order  would  be  served  by  the  changing 
of  his  own  residence  to  San  Francisco. 

The  city  was  more  central ;  influence  would  be  more  widely 
diffused;  communication  with  Oregon  would  be  facilitated;  and 
perhaps  by  the  change  of  climate,  health  and  strength  might  be 
restored  to  a  frame  never  robust,  but  now  more  than  ever  shat- 
tered by  constant  journeyings  and  labors.  The  change  was  made 
about  the  24th  of  the  month,  and  Father  Congiato  took  charge 
of  the  affairs  of  St.  Ignatius. 

The  severe  strain  imposed  upon  his  system  by  the  many  and 
harassing  duties  of  his  various  offices  had,  however,  told  too 
severely  upon  him  to  admit  of  a  bettering  of  his  physical  condi- 
tion until  his  burden  should  be  lightened.  Exhausted  nature 
longed  for  and  demanded  more  complete  relief.  He  represented 
his  case  to  his  higher  Superiors  and  not  in  vain.  They  were  loth, 
indeed,  to  deprive  the  Mission  of  his  guidance,  but  they  recognized 
the  reasonableness  of  his  representations  and  the  urgency  of  the 
matter.  On  November  16th,  Father  Congiato  left  San  Francisco 
on  a  visit  to  Santa  Clara.  He  would  be  absent,  he  said,  for  a 
few  days.  People  thought  it  was  one  of  the  ordinary  trips  which, 
in  the  fulfillment  of  his  office,  he  was  accustomed  to  make.  They 
were  soon  undeceived.  On  the  19th,  he  made  public  a  letter  of 
Father  Alexander  Joseph  Ponza,  Provincial  of  Turin,  by  which 
he  was  relieved  of  the  cares  of  superiorship,  and  Father  Cicaterri 
was  substituted  temporarily  in  his  place.  A  week  later,  having 
given  his  successor  all  needed  information  concerning  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  in  the  Mission,  with  light  heart  he  returned  to 
San  Francisco,  journeying  in  the  company  of  the  Most  Rev. 
Francis  Norbert  Blanchet,  D.  D.,  Archbishop  of  Oregon  City, 
who  had  visited  him  in  Santa  Clara. 

Thus,  freed  from  the  graver  cares  of  General  Superior, 
Father  Congiato  was  able  to  devote  himself  mainly  to  the  inter- 
ests and  solid  development  of  St.  Ignatius;  for,  though  he  still 
remained  in  charge  of  the  Oregon  Mission,  winter  had  now,  in 
great  measure,  interrupted  communication  with  it,  so  that  duties 
regarding  it  were  not  for  the  moment  pressing. 


86  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

The  number  of  secular  teachers  employed  in  the  classes  had, 
as  we  have  stated,  become  three:  Mr.  William  Barry,  already 
mentioned;  Mr.  John  Grace;  and  Mr.  John  Egan,  a  gentleman 
for  many  years  identified  with  the  college,  and  to  whose  faithful 
memory  we  are  indebted  for  many  of  the  details  relating  to  the 
years  of  which  we  are  about  to  treat.  He  had  been  engaged  on 
the  15th  of  August,  and  proved  himself  an  earnest,  conscientious 
worker  and  excellent  disciplinarian ;  and  many  an  old-time  student 
of  St.  Ignatius  owes  his  earliest  advance  along  the  path  of  knowl- 
edge to  the  guidance  of  this  devoted  teacher. 

On  the  1  st  of  November,  an  attempt  was  made  to, start  a  night 
school  in  connection  with  the  academy,  and  we  find  the  names 
of  Mr.  Mogan  and  Guthrie  Maguire,  pupils.  We  would  be 
much  surprised  if  Father  Nattini  were  not  the  moving  spirit  of 
the  project,  the  more  so  as  both  students  are  credited  with  a 
French  Ollendorf  and  nothing  else,  so  that  evidently  they  belonged 
to  his  department.  On  the  14th  and  23rd  of  the  month  an  adver- 
tisement appeared  in  the  Herald,  giving  notice  of  the  Fathers' 
intention  to  conduct  evening  classes :  the  idea  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  a  success,  and,  while  not  abandoned,  as  we  shall  see, 
its  execution  was  deferred.  It  is  pleasant  and  instructive,  how- 
ever, to  chronicle  attempts  like  these  as  indicative  of  the  spirit  of 
progressiveness  which  inspired  early  St.  Ignatius.  It  was  not 
its  fault  that  a  too  limited  number  availed  themselves  of  educa- 
tional opportunities. 

About  the  middle  of  October,  the  choir  had  undergone  a 
transformation.  The  Frenchman  and  his  plain  song  no  longer 
satisfied  the  musical  tastes  of  the  congregation,  and  Father 
Nattini  and  Mr.  Egan  took  up  the  singer's  burden.  Soon, 
however,  help  was  kindly  afforded  them;  and  while  they  con- 
tinued to  supply  the  music  during  mass,  a  choir  of  girls,  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Egan,  chanted  the  psalms  at  vespers.  The 
young  musicians  were  from  an  excellently  conducted  school  of 
the  Sisters  of  Charity  on  Market  Street  near  Old  St.  Patrick's, 
a  view  of  which  we  have  already  given,  and  they  willingly 
crossed  the  sand  wastes  to  add  the  charm  of  their  young  voices 
to  the  beauty  of  the  vesper  service. 

December  came  and  Father  Maraschi  cast  a  retrospective 
glance  over  the  financial  status  of  the  two  preceding  years.    We 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  87 

doubt  whether,  in  considering  things  from  such  a  standpoint, 
he  had  much  cause  for  feeling  elated.  Hard  work  had  been 
done,  and  plenty  of  it.  Eternity  indeed  was  the  richer  for  it  all, 
but  earth,  poor  earth,  had  lagged  behind  in  the  reckoning. 
Every  year  had  added  to  the  college's  deficit.  The  debt  of  1855 
had  become  $21,869  in  1856,  only  to  have  some  five  hundred 
dollars  added  to  it  in  1857.  The  church  collections  averaged 
about  $16  a  Sunday;  the  pew  rent  was  remarkably  small.  Even 
in  the  latter  of  the  two  years,  January  gave  only  $9;  September, 
$6;  November  and  December  only  $6.75  apiece;  four  other 
months  averaged  about  $13;  and  if  March  gave  the  compara- 
tively remarkable  sum  of  $32,  it  was  only  because  a  prominent 
lady  had  contributed  twenty  of  that  amount. 

The  income  from  tuition  had  increased  considerably,  but 
so  had  academic  expenses;  and  what  a  hasty  and  superficial 
glance  might,  at  times,  have  considered  a  surplus  on  the  right 
side  of  the  college  ledger,  was  often  in  reality  none  at  all,  for  it 
was  more  than  counterbalanced  by  back  pay  due  the  secular 
professors. 

Without  doubt  Father  Maraschi  was  often  commended  for 
not  bothering  his  congregation  about  money;  without  doubt 
many  of  those  who  made  use  of  his  ministry  admired  him  for 
never  even  speaking  of  money.  But  if  he  spared  their  feelings 
it  was  at  the  expense  of  his  own.  He  had  to  worry  on  as  best 
he  could,  and  pay  in  interest  $2,421  in  1856,  and  an  additional 
sum  of  $1,176  in  1857,  for  being  allowed  to  labor  with  his 
associates  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  parish 
and  the  Catholic  education  of  their  children. 

Yet  in  the  face  of  difficulties  that  would  have  disheartened 
another  man,  Father  Maraschi  never  faltered  nor  lost  heart. 
He  was  looking  beyond  the  horizon  of  many  another  man,  and 
it  is  to  the  credit  of  his  Superiors  that  they  trusted  him. 

1858. 

On  March  1st,  the  Oregon  Mission  was  detached  from 
the  Californian,  and  Father  Congiato  was  constituted  the 
Superior  of  what  was  thenceforth  a  separate  jurisdiction.  The 
division  of  the  two  Missions  was  an  arrangement  mutually 
advantageous.    Father  Cicaterri  became  Superior  of  California; 


88  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

and  the  central  authority  of  this  latter  Mission  was  once  more 
established  at  Santa  Clara. 

The  success  of  the  choir  under  Father  Nattini  encouraged 
it  to  more  pretentious  efforts,  and,  in  early  January,  the  old 
harmonium  was  repaired  and  one  of  Mozart's  masses  purchased. 
In  March,  new  benches  were  needed  in  the  church,  the  best  of 
evidence  that  the  little  congregation  was  growing.  This  month 
also  may  be  said  to  have  given  birth  to  the  present  college 
library,  seeing  that  the  first  considerable  purchase  of  books  for 
it,  was  made  on  the  17th.  The  academy,  too,  was  not  neglected. 
The  Monitor  of  April  3rd  contains  the  following  advertisement : 

""day  school. 
The  third  annual  session  of  the  Day  School  at  St.  Ignatius 
Church,  Market  Street,  between  Fourth  and  Fifth,  directed  by 
the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  commenced  on  the  1st  of 
September.  The  hours  of  attendance  are  from  9  o'clock  a.  m. 
to  —  o'clock  p.  m.    Pupils  of  all  denominations  admitted. 

TERMS. 

English,  Spanish,  French,  Italian,  Latin,  Greek,  Elocution, 
Arithmetic,  Bookkeeping,  Mathematics,  History,  Geography, 
per  month,  $8. 

Preparatory  Department,  $5.  Three  lessons  weekly  will  be 
given  in  drawing  for  $2  per  month.  No  extra  charge  for  vocal 
music  and  stationery.  Payments  to  be  made  monthly  in 
advance. 

For  further  information  apply  in  the  forenoon  to  A.  Maras- 
chi,  S.  J." 

By  a  strange  omission  which  runs  through  succeeding  issues 
of  the  paper,  the  hour  of  the  closing  of  school  is  omitted;  the 
hour,  however,  was  3  p.  m.  as  we  learn  from  an  advertisement 
published  in  the  National  soon  after.  As  it  is  fuller  than  the 
notice  in  the  Monitor  we  publish  it  in  facsimile.  The  night 
school  is  still  spoken  of  but  only  as  contemplated. 

In  the  Monitor  of  April  10th,  we  find  a  Catholic  Directory 
for  the  archdiocese.  It  was  a  reprint  of  an  Eastern  Directory, 
and  although  the  editor  of  the  Monitor  assures  us  that  he  had 


THE  NATIONAL. 


»  o  » 


CiEO.  PE\  JOBltf»>T©IV,  Editor. 


MONDAY  MORMXG,  August  16  h,  1858, 
DAY  SCHOOL  AT  ST.  IGNATIUS 

llarlitt  Street,   bet,   Four  ill  A:  Fifth, 

SAN    FH  A  NCISCO  . 


Directed  by  Fathers  of  the   Society    of  Jesus. 


THE    FOURTH    ANNUAL,    SESSION     OP 
this  Institution  will  commence  on  the  1st  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1558,  with  accommodations  much  better  than  here- 

to  fore. 

TERMS: 

Rhetoric,  Grammar,  Composition,  Elocution, 
Mathematics, Buok-Keeping,  Arithmetic,  An- 
cient and  Modern  Languages,  History,  Geo- 
graphy, Penmanship,  Vocal  Music — per 
month,  including   Stationery $8  00 

Preparatory  Department,  per  month,  including 

Stationery 5  00 

Three  lessons  in  Drawing,  per  week,  of  one  hour  each  will 
be  given  for  an  extra  charge  of  $2  00  per  month. 


Schooli  hours  from  9  a.  m.  to  3  p.  M.  No  school  on  Thurs- 
days and  holidays.  On  <*very  Monday  tickets  are  given  for 
punctual  attendance,  good  conduct,  and  excellence  in  reci- 
tation, to  such  as  deserved  them  in  the  previous  week. 
Average  at|*ndance  last  session,  sixty-five  pupils,  under 
the  care  of  six  Professors. 

A.  MARA8CHI,  S.  J.,  Principal. 


A  NIGHT  SCHOOL  for  Book-Keeping,  Arithmetic, 
and  Modern  Languages,  will  be  formed  as  soon  as  sufficient 
attendance  is  secure  a .  aulGtf 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  89 

purged  it  of  several  inaccuracies,  he  had  unfortunately  not 
succeeded  in  purging  it  of  all. 

Father  Piccardo  is  still  put  down  as  connected  with  St. 
Ignatius  Academy  and  Father  Nattini  is  credited  with  biloca- 
tion,  for  he  is  at  one  and  the  same  time  assistant  to  Father 
Congiato  in  San  Francisco,  and  a  member  of  the  faculty  of 
Santa  Clara  College,  Santa  Clara. 

The  issue  of  May  1st,  however,  corrects  these  errors,  and 
tells  us  that,  "The  following  is  the  authorized  list  of  the  Mis- 
sions, clergy  and  institutions  of  the  archdiocese  of  San  Fran- 
cisco.    .     .     . 

St.  Ignatius  Academy,  San  Francisco,  Rev.  A.  Maraschi, 
S.  J.;  Rev.  E.  Nattini,  S.  J.    Number  of  pupils,  75." 

On  April  17th,  the  same  esteemed  paper  among  its  "Eccle- 
siastical Announcements"  informed  its  readers  of  Father  Con- 
giato's  approaching  departure. 

"We  announce  with  deepest  regret,"  it  says,  "the  depart- 
ure from  among  us,  of  the  Very  Rev.  N.  Congiato,  now 
Superior  of  the  Order  of  Jesuits  in  Oregon  and  Washington 
Territories.  By  the  last  mail,  letters  arrived  ordaining  that 
the  Pacific  Province  which  had  hitherto  consisted  of  California 
and  the  Territories  named,  should  henceforth  be  divided  into 
two,  and  Father  Congiato  is  appointed  Superior  of  the  Missions 
in  the  northern  division.  His  loss  to  this  State  is  sincerely 
deplored  not  only  by  his  own  Order,  but  by  the  Archbishop  and 
clergy  of  this  archdiocese,  and  by  all  to  whom  the  unassuming 
virtues  and  eminent  zeal  of  Father  Congiato  are  known." 

The  day  following  this  announcement,  the  second  Sunday 
after  Easter,  a  little  of  the  sensational  was  thrown  into  the 
quiet  life  of  St.  Ignatius.  At  the  time  when  the  church  was 
without  worshipers,  an  insane  man  entered,  and  forestalling 
modern  methods  in  which  a  formal  declaration  of  war  is  not 
necessary,  started  in  to  destroy  whatever  came  to  hand. 
Father  Congiato  heard  the  noise  and  hastened  to  seek  the 
cause.  He  was  not  long  in  finding  it.  Unable  alone  to  cope 
with  the  maniac,  he  gave  the  alarm.  Fortunately  some  men 
happened  to  be  within  calling  distance,  and  having  hastened 
to   the    Father's   assistance,    quickly   overpowered    the    fellow, 


90  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

though  not  until  he  had  succeeded  in  smashing  everything 
breakable  about  the  altar.  The  news  immediately  spread 
through  the  city;  generosity  was  aroused;  and  under  the  word 
"Smashing,"  Father  Maraschi  opened  a  new  account  in  his 
ledger.  Thanks  to  the  zeal  of  Miss  Marie  L.  Roach,  who 
specially  exerted  herself  in  obtaining  contributions,  and  to  the 
open  hands  of  many  of  the  church's  friends,  the  loss  was  not 
only  covered,  but  a  comfortable  sum  over  and  above  was  netted 
for  improvements;  so  that  candlesticks  bought,  and  candelabra, 
and  a  carpet  for  the  altar,  and  cloth  for  church  curtains,  and 
the  painting  of  pews,  altar  and  baptistry,  dot  the  account  page 
with  a  frequency  unknown  before. 

On  the  28th  of  May,  Father  Congiato  left  San  Francisco  to 
devote  his  entire  energy  to  the  furtherance  of  the  interests  of 
the  Oregon  Mission,  and  Father  Maraschi  had  again  to 
shoulder  the  burden  and  responsibilities  of  St.  Ignatius.  On 
the  same  day,  the  museum  of  the  academy  was  started  by  the 
purchase  of  a  collection  of  shells.  In  July,  the  physical  cabinet, 
which  for  years  has  ranked  among  the  best  in  the  colleges  of 
the  world,  received  its  first  installment  of  instruments,  the 
nucleus  of  a  development  of  which  our  city  may  be  justly  proud. 
We  do  not  deny  that  the  museum  and  cabinet  of  1858  were 
very  small  affairs;  we  merely  wonder  that  there  were  any  at 
all;  and  wonder  the  more  when  we  reflect  that  their  inception 
coincides  with  a  period  of  great  financial  depression  in  San 
Francisco,  when  the  city  was  in  great  part  depopulated  by  the 
mad  rush  to  the  gold  fields  of  Frazer  River ;  so  much  so,  that  the 
Monitor  on  July  3rd  gives  notice  to  its  readers,  that,  owing  to 
the  exodus,  it  would  be  obliged  to  suspend  publication  for  the 
period  of  three  months.     Its  next  issue  was  on  October  16th. 

On  August  31st,  Fathers  Alphonsus  Biglione  and  Urban 
Grassi  came  from  Santa  Clara  to  teach  in  the  academy;  and 
the  next  day,  Father  Nattini  left  St.  Ignatius,  having  been 
appointed  to  teach  in  Santa  Clara.  About  this  time  we  have  the 
first  records  of  Sunday-schools  in  connection  with  the  church, 
though  probably  they  existed  earlier.  Both  Father  Grassi  and 
Father  Biglione  taught  catechism  publicly.  Good  Father 
Maraschi  filled  so  many  offices  that  he  had  hardly  time  to 
breathe.      He   was   president;   prefect   of   schools;   he   taught 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


91 


Greek  and  Spanish;  he  preached;  heard  confessions,  and  visited 
the  sick;  and,  besides  keeping  domestic  accounts,  had  to  attend 
to  the  general  accounts  of  the  Californian  and  Oregon  Missions. 
There  were,  besides,  some  building  and  repairing  always  going 
on,  some  addition  to  what  already  existed,  and  the  superin- 
tendence of  such  work  naturally  fell  to  him. 

At  the  end  of  July,  Mr.  Barry  had  severed  his  connections 
with  the  academy,  and  soon  after,  Mr.  Fallon  replaced  him. 
A  Mr.  Lovis  also  taught  for  some  months  toward  the  end  of 
the  year.  Changes  in  teachers  seem  to  have  been  frequent 
about  this  time,  due  probably  to  the  restlessness  that  existed 
on  account  of  the  gold  excitement  already  mentioned.  A  sing- 
ing teacher  was  hired  to  take  Father  Nattini's  place  in  culti- 
vating the  pupils'  voices;  so  that,  with  the  various  changes, 
matters  were  soon  running  as  before. 

About  the  middle  of  October,  Father  De  Smet  arrived  in 
San  Francisco.  A  notice  of  the  event  is  contained  in  the 
Monitor  of  October  23rd:  "General  Harney  arrived  on  last 
Saturday,"  it  says,  "on  the  steamer  John  L.  Stephens,  en  route 
for  Oregon  to  take  command  of  the  army  stationed  there. 
Father  De  Smet,  a  Catholic  missionary,  accompanies  him  as 
chaplain  to  the  army.  The  Reverend  Father  has  had  a  long 
experience  with  the  Indians  in  the  Northwest  and  much  good 
may  be  expected  from  his  labors." 

In  his  "New  Indian  Sketches,"  pages  86  and  87,  the  Father 
himself  gives  an  account  of  his  journey,  and  his  arrival  at  St. 
Ignatius.    The  letter  is  written  a  year  after  the  event. 

"St.  Louis,  Nov.    10th,  1859. 
Reverend  and  dear  Father: 

In  accordance  with  my  promise,  I  resume  the  little  story 
of  my  long  voyage.  On  my  return  to  St.  Louis,  I  tendered 
to  the  Minister  of  War,  my  resignation  of  the  post  of  chaplain. 
It  was  not  accepted,  because  a  new  war  had  just  broken  out 
against  the  Government,  among  the  tribes  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  I  was  notified  by  telegraph  to  proceed  to  New 
York,  and  to  embark  there  with  General  Harney  and  his  staff. 
On  the  20th  of  September,  1858,  we  left  for  Aspinwall;  it  was 
the  season  of  the  equinox,  so  that  we  experienced  some  rough 


92  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

weather  in  the  voyage,  and  a  heavy  wind  among  the  Bahamas. 
.  .  .  On  the  evening  of  the  16th  of  October,  I  arrived 
at  San  Francisco,  happy  to  find  myself  in  a  house  of  the  Society, 
and  in  the  company  of  many  of  my  brethren  in  Jesus  Christ, 
who  loaded  me  with  kindness,  and  all  the  attention  of  the 
most  cordial  charity." 

It  was  in  October,  1858,  that  the  Students'  Sodality  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  was  established  by  Father  Biglione, 
for  on  the  26th  of  the  month,  a  dozen  Sodality  manuals  were 
supplied  it,  and  on  November  29th,  two  dozen  more.  It  is  true 
that  the  college  catalogues  give  its  establishment  at  a  later 
date;  but  in  this  they  are  only  following  the  lead  of  that  of 
1870,  which  was  the  first  to  mention  it,  giving  the  date  of  its 
organization  as  February,  1859.  The  latter  date  we  cannot 
consider  more  than  a  guess  made  some  eleven  years  after  the 
event.  It  is,  moreover,  irreconcilable  with  the  fact  that  Father 
Biglione  is  put  down  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Turin  Province 
of  1859,  as  Director  of  the  Sodality;  for,  as  all  acquainted  with 
such  matters  know,  the  Provincial  catalogues  are  printed  in 
the  early  months  of  the  year  designated,  and  have  their  matter 
sent  them  at  least  by  the  end  of  the  preceding  year.  This, 
especially,  must  have  been  the  case  in  communications  sent 
from  California  in  the  later  Fifties;  so  that  insertion  in 
the  catalogue  of  1859  implies  information  sent  at  least  in 
the  closing  months  of  1858.  The  purchase  of  Sodality  manuals 
in  October  and  of  a  double  number  in  November,  is  sufficient 
indication  of  an  actually  increasing  Sodality,  and  not  of  a 
mere  possible  creation  that  was  to  be  some  months  later. 

In  December,  a  new  building  was  put  up  in  the  rear  of  the 
others.  It  contained  two  classrooms.  Plain  and  unpretentious, 
it  still  marked  progress— progress  in  the  number  of  pupils  and 
progress  in  debt.  The  year  went  out,  as  its  predecessors  had 
done,  and  left  a  deficit  of  about  $1,600.  Father  Maraschi  was 
now  nearly  $24,000  in  debt. 

Three  masses  in  the  church  in  those  days,  at  6,  8  and  11 
a.  m.  on  Sundays,  afforded  the  congregation  every  facility  for 
attending  divine  service.  Vespers  were  sung  in  the  afternoon 
at   3:30.     Fathers   Maraschi   and   Biglione  heard   confessions 


FATHER  JOSEPH  BIXIO,   S.  J.  BROTHER  ALBERT  WEYRINGER,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


93 


in  the  church  and  preached;  Father  Grassi  devoted  his  time 
mainly  to  the  welfare  of  the  students  in  the  academy. 

1859. 

So  the  year  1859  opened,  a  year  ever  memorable  in  the 
annals  of  St.  Ignatius,  for  it  was  early  in  that  year  that 
the  General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  officially  recognized  the 
institution  as  a  ''Collegium  inchoatum"  or  "College  commenced." 

On  the  strength  of  this  recognition,  it  was  now  deemed 
proper  by  the  Fathers  to  incorporate  under  the  State  laws, 
and  apply  to  the  legislature  for  a  charter.  The  application 
was  readily  granted,  and  on  the  30th  of  April,  "under  the  style 
and  title  of  St.  Ignatius  College,"  the  former  academy  "was 
empowered  to  confer  degrees  with  such  literary  honors  as 
are  granted  by  any  University  in  the  United  States."  On 
June  23rd,  Father  Maraschi  placed  the  charter  on  public  record. 
The  zeal  of  the  Fathers  of  St.  Ignatius  in  the  cause  of  Catholic 
education  drew  strength  and  encouragement  from  the  zeal 
of  His  Grace,  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  who,  ever  keep- 
ing in  view  the  paramount  need  of  his  flock,  labored  strenu- 
ously, with  the  weak  means  at  his  disposal,  to  supply  proper 
training  for  Catholic  youth.  On  the  24th  of  May,  therefore, 
he  presided  over  a  meeting  of  the  Catholic  laity  of  San  Fran- 
cisco held  in  the  basement  of  the  Cathedral,  and  the  following 
resolution  was  proposed  and  unanimously  adopted: 

"Resolved :  That  we,  the  Catholic  parents  of  San  Francisco, 
in  our  solicitude  for  the  temporal  and  eternal  welfare  of  our 
children,  are  persuaded  that  the  most  effectual  means  for  the 
promotion  of  both  is  the  establishment  of  good  Catholic 
schools;  and  that  we  hereby  pledge  ourselves  to  establish  and 
maintain  such  schools  to  the  best  of  our  ability. 

The  terms  of  payment  were  discussed  and  agreed  upon, 
leaving  the  school,  however,  completely  free  to  those  whose 
circumstances  may  not  permit  them  to  contribute." 

The  plan,  therefore,  adopted  was  practically  the  plan  of 
St.  Ignatius,  the  only  plan,  in  fact,  that  could  meet  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  case. 


94  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

In  the  church,  the  Sunday  congregations  were  increasing, 
and  fears  began  to  be  felt  for  the  safety  of  the  little  building. 
When,  therefore,  in  June,  Father  Maraschi  rendered  the 
edifice  firm  and  strong  by  means  of  iron  braces,  his  mind  was 
more  at  ease.  No  change  took  place  this  year  among  the 
Fathers  attached  to  church  and  college,  and  their  duties 
remained  practically  the  same,  only  we  do  not  find  Greek  among 
the  branches  taught  by  Father  Maraschi. 

It  was  quite  different,  however,  with  the  secular  teachers. 
Mr.  Egan  indeed  remained,  but  a  new  teacher,  Mr.  Charton, 
was  employed  from  September  to  the  end  of  the  school  year. 
Messrs.  Finn  and  John  Farrelly  taught  for  some  months  only. 
But,  in  spite  of  drawbacks,  the  year  1859  went  out,  leaving 
everything  thriving  in  St.  Ignatius,  the  congregation,  the 
number  of  pupils,  the  staff  of  professors;  and  Father  Maraschi 
must  have  felt  happy  that,  for  the  first  time,  the  institution 
confided  to  his  care  had  been  able  to  support  itself  and  even 
diminish  the  debt  by  some  $1,200. 

i860. 

The  first  week  of  February,  i860,  welcomed  Father  Con- 
giato  back  to  San  Francisco,  whither  he  had  come  partly  on 
business,  partly  to  escape  the  rigors  of  more  northern  climes. 
A  few  weeks  were  spent  in  Santa  Clara,  but  during  the  rest 
of  his  stay  he  was  the  guest  of  St.  Ignatius.  In  the  middle 
of  May,  he  again  departed  for  the  field  of  his  labors,  much 
improved  in  health  and  anxious  to  devote  his  increased 
strength  to  the  furtherance  of  Christ's  kingdom  among  the 
savage  tribes.  Toward  the  end  of  the  same  month,  Father 
Paul  Raffo  replaced  Father  Biglione  in  San  Francisco,  and 
Father  Biglione  in  turn,  relieved  Father  Bixio  in   San  Jose. 

In  July,  the  physical  cabinet  received  several  important 
additions,  and,  according  to  Father  Maraschi's  brief  enumera- 
tion, could  boast  of>"a  steam  engine;  an  electric  machine  and 
appendices;  an  air  pump  and  appendices;  articles  bought  at 
San  Francisco  College;  a  theodolite;  a  compression  fountain." 

The  college  of  which  mention  is  made,  was  an  institution 
which  evidently  aimed  at  imparting  a  higher  education,  but 
which,   from  lack  of  patronage,  had  been  obliged  to  close  its 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE  95 

doors.  If  St.  Ignatius  outlived  it,  it  is  not  that  finances  were 
better,  but  that  a  religious  college  is  built  upon  foundations 
more  firm  and  enduring.  A  secular  institution  must  pay  its 
teachers  a  good  salary  or  lose  them;  a  religious  institution 
pays  no  salary  to  its  own  members,  giving  in  return  for  valuable 
services,  mere  frugal  support.  Its  own  members  are  bound 
to  it  by  a  contract  which  has  no  dependence  on  financial  con- 
ditions, and  hence  it  can  withstand  attacks  that  infallibly  work 
havoc  and  ruin  in  others.  A  Catholic  college  is  built  on  long- 
suffering  and  self-sacrifice.  It  perpetuates  its  own  existence, 
so  that  the  obligations  of  one  administration  are  in  no  danger 
of  repudiation  by  another.  Were  matters  otherwise,  St. 
Ignatius  and  other  Catholic  colleges  and  schools  would  long 
since,  like  the  College  of  San  Francisco,  have  been  memories 
of  the  past.  They  live  on  life  sacrifices;  they  thrive  on  a  self 
devotion  that  money  cannot  purchase.  On  the  funds  at  their 
disposal,  a  secular  institution  would  starve.  It  is  a  pity  that 
even  Catholics  do  not  appreciate  this;  and  that  the  wealthiest 
among  them  have  so  little  to  devote  to  the  advance  of  educa- 
tion in  the  hands  of  those  with  whom  every  dollar  produces 
in  results,  double  and  treble  what  it  does  in  the  hands  of  others. 
But  to  return  to  the  cabinet.  It  was  on  this  occasion,  we 
think,  that  the  telescope,  a  very  fine  instrument,  and  for  many 
years  the  best  in  California,  was  purchased. 

Now  that  the  college  was  formally  recognized  as  such, 
even  by  the  State,  the  scholastic  year,  for  the  first  time,  was 
closed  with  an  exhibition  and  the  bestowal  of  premiums.  The 
exercises  were  well  attended,  and  the  proficiency  shown  by 
the  pupils  went  far  towards  spreading  the  good  name  of  the 
rising  Jesuit  college.  Parents  made  many  sacrifices  to  send 
their  children  to  it,  and  more  than  one  boy  in  those  days 
trudged  over  and  around  many  a  sand  hill  to  receive  a  Catholic 
education  in  St.  Ann's  Valley. 

Two  Jesuit  Fathers  were  added  to  the  college  staff  this 
year:  Father  Angelo  Affranchino  and  Father  Placidus  Dema- 
estri.  The  former  had  lately  completed  his  theological  studies 
in  England  and  had  been  ordained  priest :  the  latter  had  arrived 
a  month  or  two  before  with  Father  William  Moylan  of  the 


96  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Maryland  Province.  Father  Affranchino  taught  English,  and 
Father  Demaestri,  French.  Father  Maraschi,  as  usual,  seems 
to  have  had  the  lion's  share  of  labor,  for,  with  his  other  duties, 
he  managed  to  find  time  to  teach  Latin,  Spanish,  Italian, 
Mathematics  and  Bookkeeping. 

The  secular  teachers  were  Messrs.  Seregni,  Egan  and  Doyle. 
Mr.  Andrew  McGlynn  taught  for  some  time,  as  did  also  a 
certain  Mr.  McLane.  And  so  this  year  also  glided  away  with 
little  of  note  to  break  the  smoothness  of  its  current.  In 
November,  Father  Congiato  was  once  more  the  guest  of  St. 
Ignatius,  and  with  him  had  come  Father  Adrian  Hoecken, 
whose  health  had  been  undermined  by  the  trials  and  privations 
of  forest  life.  Father  Hoecken  soon  departed  for  Santa  Clara, 
there  to  build  up  his  strength  for  further  years  of  fruitful  toil. 

The  big  sand  hill  which  Brother  Weyringer  had  attacked 
in  a  small  way,  and,  in  attacking,  had  been  worsted,  had  been 
yielding,  little  by  little,  to  carts  and  shovels,  and  a  widening 
playground  added  new  attractions  to  the  college.  Nor  were 
athletics  entirely  overlooked  in  these  early  days  of  St.  Ignatius, 
though  we  doubt  whether  the  football  that  Father  Maraschi 
presented  to  his  pupils  on  December  19th,  would  have  been 
given  as  readily,  had  the  game  not  lacked  many  of  its  modern 
features. 

We  have  said  that  little  disturbed  the  quiet  of  i860,  for 
even  though  again  the  financial  balance  was  on  the  wrong  side, 
and  marked  a  deficit  of  over  $1,000,  this  constant  falling  behind 
made  little  impression,  for  it  had  come  to  be  considered  as  almost 
a  settled  thing.  The  present  was  the  seed  time,  the  harvest  was 
confided  to  the  future.  Provided  that  God's  work  was  furthered 
in  peace  and  harmony,  the  Fathers  were  content  to  struggle  on 
in  hope.  Such,  however,  was  not  to  be  the  case.  Eighteen  hun- 
dred and  sixty-one  and  its  immediate  successors  were  to  be 
broken  by  many  a  rock  and  rapid,  before  church  and  college 
would  return  to  the  even  tenor  of  their  former  course.  But  we 
must  not  anticipate. 

1861. 
On   New   Year's   Day,  the   Altar   Society   was   established. 
Father  Paul  Raffo  was  its  Director.     From  the  very  beginning 


ST.  IGNATIUS  IN  i860,  DRAWN  FROM  LATER  PHOTOGRAPH 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


97 


of  the  church  in  July,  1855,  there  had  always  been  those  who, 
loving  the  beauty  of  God's  house,  had,  each  by  himself  or  her- 
self, contributed  something  toward  the  adornment  of  the  altar, 
and  the  improvement  and  support  of  the  choir.  Under  the  active 
zeal  of  Miss  Marie  L.  Roach,  we  know  that  such  efforts  had 
been  greatly  stimulated  and  wisely  directed ;  but  there  were  lack- 
ing still  the  strength  and  encouragement  which  organization 
alone  can  supply,  and  these  were  afforded  by  the  new  society. 
The  old  was  passing  away;  new  circumstances  were  rapidly 
developing;  the  demand  was  making  itself  felt  for  greater 
splendor  in  church  worship.  The  ordinary  revenues,  however, 
were  far  from  supplying  the  need.  The  Altar  Society  was, 
therefore,  what  was  most  required  at  the  time,  and  met  with  a 
ready  response  from  the  congregation.  What  Father  Congiato 
thought  of  Miss  Roach's  kindness  is  best  expressed  by  the  fol- 
lowing letter : 

"Miss  Roach: 

Please  accept  this  small  token  of  the  gratitude  we  owe  you, 
not  only  for  your  last  successful  efforts  in  behalf  of  our  church, 
but  for  the  many  other  instances  of  more  than  common  kindness 
you  have  been  showing  us.  We  are  very  thankful  to  you  for 
all  this,  and  we  shall  never  cease  to  offer  up  our  prayers  for  your 
temporal  and  eternal  welfare.  Wishing  you,  in  my  name  and 
in  the  name  of  my  brethren,  every  kind  of  happiness,  I  remain, 
Miss  Roach, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

N.  Congiato,  S.  J." 

If  bequests  there  were  to  St.  Ignatius  previous  to  this  time, 
they  have  succeeded  in  escaping  record.  We  surmise,  how- 
ever, that  they  did  not  exist.  The  first  mentioned  was  one  of 
a  hundred  dollars  from  John  Logue,  and  was  received  on  Feb- 
ruary 28th.  Doubtless  the  donor  and  those  who  knew  of  the 
gift,  considered  the  amount  small.  They  did  not  know  how  big 
it  was  to  Father  Maraschi.  Neither  do  we  find  alms  of  any 
considerable  amount  bestowed  upon  the  Fathers.  What  they 
received  were  mainly  the  offerings  of  the  poor  or  of  people  of 
moderate  means.  And  when,  in  November  of  this  year,  the 
present  Father  Florence  Sullivan,  having  taken  the  vows  of  the 


98  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

Society  of  Jesus,  bestowed,  in  winding  up  his  worldly  affairs, 
an  alms  of  one  hundred  dollars,  Father  Maraschi,  as  if  to  express 
the  feelings  of  his  heart,  abandoned  the  small,  cramped  hand 
which  he  ordinarily  used  in  making  his  entries,  and  put  this  down 
in  a  full,  round  hand  and  with  an  extra  flourish.  A  hundred 
dollars  less  in  a  deficit  is  no  small  consolation. 

On  March  25th,  the  feast  of  the  Annunciation,  a  distin- 
guished guest  arrived  at  St.  Ignatius.  He  was  the  Rev.  Felix 
Sopranis  who  had  been  appointed  Visitor  General  of  the  Jesuit 
houses  in  America,  and  had  come  to  make  an  official  inspection 
of  matters  in  California.  Brother  Ledore  accompanied  him. 
His  stay  in  California  covered  about  the  space  of  two  months, 
most  of  his  time  being  spent  in  San  Francisco.  He  examined 
the  prospects  of  St.  Ignatius,  learned  of  its  needs,  looked  into 
its  resources,  and  agreed  with  the  Fathers,  that,  while  an  increase 
of  debt  was  undesirable,  the  cold  logic  of  the  city's  development 
imperatively  demanded  corresponding  progress  in  church  and 
college.  However,  as  a  new  Superior  for  the  Californian  Mis- 
sion was  on  his  way,  it  was  judged  prudent  to  await  his  com- 
ing before  entering  upon  plans. 

The  man  chosen  for  the  position  was  Father  Burchard  Vil- 
liger  of  the  Maryland  Province,  a  Jesuit  of  deep  piety  and  rare 
ability,  who  reached  San  Francisco  on  May  18th.  Two  days 
later,  Rev.  Father  Sopranis,  taking  with  him  as  companions 
Fathers  Felix  Cicaterri  and  Adrian  Hoecken,  as  also  Brother 
Ledore,  was  once  more  out  upon  the  broad  Pacific,  on  his  way, 
via  Panama,  to  New  York.  On  the  21st,  Father  Villiger  took 
boat  for  Alviso,  and  thence  traveled  by  stage  to  Santa  Clara, 
where  he  was  to  reside  as  Superior  of  the  Mission  of  California 
and  President  of  Santa  Clara  College.  Father  Congiato  still 
remained  at  St.  Ignatius,  expecting,  it  would  seem,  relief  from 
the  burden  of  the  superiorship  of  the  Oregon  Mission,  a  burden 
ill-proportioned  to  his  ever  delicate  health. 

Already  had  church  and  college  changed  considerably  in 
appearance  from  the  buildings  that  first  arose  among  the  sand 
hills  shutting  in  St.  Ann's  humble  valley,  but  we  will  not  say  that 
the  new  appearance  was  a  great  improvement  on  the  old.  The 
buildings  remained  plain  and  unassuming,  though  now  the  orig- 
inal three — church,  school  and  residence — had  been  united  into 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH   AND    COLLEGE  99 

one.  The  spaces  that  had  separated  them  had  been  roofed  in, 
adding  room  and  convenience,  if  not  pretentiousness.  Besides, 
various  additions  had  been  made  in  the  rear.  A  chapel  and  a 
study  hall  had  been  built,  as  also  some  classrooms;  but,  as  there 
had  been  no  oneness  of  plan,  but  now  this  had  been  built  and 
now  that,  to  provide  for  the  necessities  of  the  moment  and  yet 
not  drain  completely  a  purse  that  was  always  slender,  the  result, 
as  was  to  have  been  expected,  was  an  unsatisfactory  patchwork. 

In  Father  Villiger's  mind  there  never  was,  for  a  moment*  a 
doubt  as  to  what  was  to  be  done.  St.  Ignatius  must  be  rebuilt 
on  broader  lines,  and  as  soon  as  possible.  Hence  Father 
Maraschi  bravely  girded  himself  for  the  task.  Though  his  debt 
in  June,  1861,  was  about  $24,000,  he  opened,  on  June  8th,  a 
church  fund  and  solicited  the  co-operation  of  friends  and  parish- 
ioners, that  buildings  truly  worthy  of  divine  worship  and  the 
cause  of  religion  might  bear  the  name  of  St.  Ignatius.  He  had 
good  reason  to  believe  that  his  appeal  would  be  successful.  The 
Fathers  were  popular.  They  had  labored  for  six  years  among 
the  people  of  San  Francisco.  Church  and  college  were  a  suc- 
cess and  not  an  untried  experiment.  The  congregation  had 
never  been  pestered  for  money,  nor  had  the  Fathers,  in  their 
ministrations,  made  distinction  of  persons.  They  had  given  gen- 
erously of  what  they  had — learning,  health,  experience,  life ;  why 
should  they  not  reasonably  expect  generosity  on  the  people's  part 
in  the  supplying  of  temporal  means,  which,  after  all,  were  really 
for  the  people's  benefit. 

On  the  17th  of  the  month,  Mr.  D.  J.  Oliver,  so  well  and 
favorably  known  in  our  city  in  days  gone  by,  opened  the  sub- 
scription list  with  a  hundred  dollars.  To  this  a  few  more  dollars 
in  small  amounts,  by  four  or  five  different  contributors,  were 
added  up  to  August  17th,  and  then  the  subscription  stopped. 
Miss  Roach,  with  her  usual  zeal,  had  gathered  $400  for  a  new 
tabernacle,  but  this  was  credited  to  the  Altar  Society,  and  the 
church  fund  languished.  So  matters  will  remain  until  the  fol- 
lowing March,  when,  on  the  2nd  of  the  month,  Mr.  James  R. 
Kelly  will  again  head  the  list  with  $100,  and  this  time  matters 
will  go  ahead,  for  the  time  of  building  will  have  come.  But  we 
are  again  anticipating. 


ioo  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1861,  great  improvements  were 
taking  place  around  the  college.  Market  Street  had  been  cut 
through  and  graded,  and  the  road-bed  macadamized.  All  this 
entailed  great  expense,  but  it  was  repaid  many  times  over  in 
the  increased  value  of  the  property,  and  in  the  easier  com- 
munication thus  established  between  St.  Ignatius  and  all  the  parts 
of  the  rapidly  growing  city.  The  duck  ponds,  of  which  there 
had  been  several  in  the  vicinity,  were  now  things  of  the  past,  and 
even  the  old  sidewalk  in  front  of  the  church,  which  must  have 
been  very  elaborate,  seeing  that  on  June  14th  two  dollars  had 
been  expended  in  removing  it,  ceased  to  figure  in  the  city's 
history.  The  accompanying  view  taken  in  another  part  of  the 
city,  will  interest  our  readers  as  showing  how  the  sand  hills  of 
San  Francisco  became  things  of  the  past. 

Towards  the  end  of  July,  the  college  catalogue  made  its 
first  appearance,  the  school  year  having  ended  on  the  27th  of 
the  month  with  an  exhibition  at  10  a.  m.  Four  hundred  and 
eighty  copies  were  distributed.  It  is  a  small  pamphlet  of  six- 
teen pages.  It  informs  us  of  the  opening  of  the  college  on 
October  15th,  1855,  and  of  its  incorporation  on  April  30th, 
four  years  later.  "The  college  is  conducted,"  it  says,  "by  the 
Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  is  intended  for  day  scholars 
only.  The  collegiate  year  begins  on  the  last  Monday  of  August 
and  closes  about  the  end  of  June  with  a  distribution  of  premiums. 

The  plan  of  instruction  is  essentially  the  same  as  that  now 
followed  in  Santa  Clara  College,  California,  embracing  the  Latin, 
Greek,  English,  French  and  Spanish  languages;  poetry,  rhetoric, 
elocution,  history,  geography,  arithmetic,  bookkeeping,  mathe- 
matics, moral  and  natural  philosophy,  and  chemistry.  There 
is  also  a  Preparatory  Department,  in  which  spelling,  read- 
ing, writing,  and  the  elements  of  arithmetic,  history  and 
geography  are  taught,  in  order  to  qualify  the  pupils  for  the 
higher  studies.  Other  languages  than  those  mentioned  above, 
as  well  as  drawing  and  vocal  music,  will  be  taught,  if 
required,  but  will  form  extra  charges.     .     .     . 

The  hours  of  class  are  from  9  o'clock  in  the  morning  to 
3  p.  m.  There  will  be  a  recess  from  12  to  12  130  p.  M.,  but  none 
will  be  allowed  to  leave  the  premises  during  that  time  unless 
residing  in  the  immediate  neighborhood." 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         101 

A  list  of  the  faculty  and  other  officers  is  then  given,  and 
next  come  the  pupils,  together  with  the  classes  to  which  they 
belong.  After  these,  we  have  the  honors  and  distinctions  gained 
in  the  various  classes.  A  modest  programme  completes  the  whole. 
The  number  of  pupils  was  144,  distributed  into  eight  classes,  as 
follows:  Rhetoric,  3;  Poetry,  7;  1st  Grammar,  3;  2d  Grammar, 
13;  3d  Grammar,  49;  1st  Rudiments,  11;  2d  Rudiments,  18; 
3d  Rudiments,  40. 

In  the  classical  department  we  find  three  classes  of  Latin, 
but  only  one  of  Greek.  French,  Italian  and  Spanish  are  culti- 
vated by  the  pupils,  as  are  also  figure  and  landscape  drawing; 
not  that  the  Fathers  intended,  by  these  latter  branches,  to  form 
artists  or  linguists,  but  that  they  recognized  the  refining  influences 
of  such  accomplishments.  On  the  29th  of  July,  two  days 
after  the  commencement  exercises,  Father  Urban  Grassi  bade 
farewell  to  St.  Ignatius.  True,  he  did  not  part  without  a 
pang,  for  he  had  labored  zealously  and  successfully  in  assisting 
his  brethren  in  their  endeavors  to  upbuild  the  institution,  but 
duty  called  him  to  long  years  of  fruitful  toil  among  the  wild 
tribes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and,  child  as  he  was  of  obedience, 
he  must  obey.  Father  Raffo,  too,  a  little  later  was  transferred 
to  San  Jose  to  replace  Father  Alphonsus  Biglione,  who  had 
been  called  to  Santa  Clara  as  professor  of  mental  and  moral 
philosophy. 

The  place  left  vacant  by  Father  Raffo,  as  chaplain  of 
the  students,  was  destined  to  be  filled  by  a  man  who  was  to 
become  the  most  famous  Jesuit  on  the  Pacific  Slope.  We  speak 
of  Father  James  Buchard  or  Bouchard,  the  name  seeming  to 
admit  of  different  spellings.  In  company  with  Fathers  Edmund 
Young  of  the  Maryland  Province,  Florence  Boudreaux  of  the 
Missouri,  and  Brother  Anthony  Ciotti  of  the  Roman,  Father 
Buchard  had  arrived  in  San  Francisco  on  August  9th.  He 
alone,  it  would  seem,  had,  in  the  first  arrangement,  been  destined 
for  St.  Ignatius;  for  though,  after  a  few  days'  rest,  he  accom- 
panied the  others  to  Santa  Clara,  they  remained  there  while  he 
returned  to  the  city. 

Father  Boudreaux  was  stationed  at  Santa  Clara  until  the 
middle  of  October,  laboring  in  the  college  and  preaching 
frequently    both    to    the    congregation    in    the    church    and    to 


102  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

the  students  in  their  chapel.  He  was  then  attached  to  the 
faculty  of  St.  Ignatius,  and  the  impress  left  on  the  institution 
by  his  experience  and  ability,  long  outlived  him.  Three  other 
Fathers  were  added  to  the  college  staff  this  year.  They  were 
Father  Sanctes  Traverso,  who  taught  rhetoric,  poetry,  ancient 
and  modern  languages,  history  and  geography;  Father  Joseph 
Tadini,  who  taught  ancient  languages;  and  Father  James 
Vanzina,  who  received  from  Superiors  the  task  of  mastering 
the  difficulties  of  the  character  of  the  American  boy,  as  prefect 
of  discipline,  while  he,  at  the  same  time,  sought  to  master  those, 
even  greater,  of  the  English  idiom.  Fathers  Traverso  and  Tadini 
came  from  Santa  Clara,  where  they  had  taught  the  preceding 
year.  Father  Vanzina  came  from  Dole  in  the  Province  of 
Lyons,  France,  where  he  had  been  employed  in  the  labors  of 
the  ministry. 

But,  while  these  matters  were  developing  inside  the  college, 
and  every  nerve  was  being  strained  to  give  it  all  the  efficiency 
compatible  with  circumstances,  difficulties  arose  from  without, 
which  must,  for  some  time,  claim  our  attention.  But,  before 
entering  upon  the  matter,  the  delicacy  of  which  must  be  obvious 
to  all,  we  protest,  in  the  sincerity  of  our  hearts,  that  we  have  only 
the  highest  and  noblest  motives  to  attribute  to  the  action  of  one 
who  considered  himself  in  conscience  bound  to  act  as  he  did ;  and 
that  we  consider  the  case  as  merely  one  of  those  occurrences 
that  are  apt  to  happen  in  life,  in  which  rights  and  duties  are 
liable  to  be  differently  understood  and  interpreted;  each  party 
bearing  the  sincerest  respect  for  the  other,  each  regretting  that 
differences  should  exist,  yet  unable  to  see  how  differences  can 
be  avoided ;  each  ready  to  submit  to  competent  authority  when- 
ever a  decision  will  be  rendered.  But  the  state  of  the  case  and 
the  source  of  the  difficulty  will  best  appear  from  the  following 
letter  of  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Alemany  to  Father  Villiger, 
Superior  of  the  Jesuits  in  California : 

**  "San  Francisco,  August  7th,   1861. 

Very  Reverend  dear  Father: 

I  received  your  esteemed  favor  of  the  1st  inst,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  the  destination  made  will  suit  the  interests  of 
religion.     I  also  must  thank  you  in  the  name  of  the  Sisters  for 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         103 

your  charity  in  giving  them  Fathers  to  give  them  spiritual 
retreats;  and,  in  fact,  I  am  grateful  to  all  the  Fathers  for  the 
much  work  done  and  to  be  done  for  the  spiritual  advantage  of 
souls  and  the  glory  of  God.  It  was  because  I  considered  that 
they  would  do  good,  that  I  gave  to  Father  Nobili  the  congrega- 
tions of  Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose. 

I  wished  to  afford  the  opportunity  of  some  permanent  estab- 
lishment to  the  good  children  of  St.  Ignatius  and  of  St.  Dominic, 
while  they  would  also  work  for  the  good  of  religion  and  fight 
for  the  holy  cause  to  the  Day  of  Judgment.  In  connection  with 
this,  it  would  appear  that  it  is  not  exactly  the  intention  of  the 
Church  to  place  parishes  much  under  the  care  of  Religious,  nor 
the  object  of  Religious  to  administer  them.  And  it  was  in  order 
to  show  my  good  will  to  the  Jesuit  and  the  Dominican  Fathers, 
that  I  obtained  for  both,  some  considerable  time  since,  what  I 
considered  favors.  Now  I  have  a  kind  of  presentiment  that  I 
may  meet  with  some  displeasure  from  both  in  not  succeeding  in 
obtaining  more.  And  this  is  the  main  object  of  this — namely, 
to  see  if  the  materia  prima  for  such  an  unpleasant  future,  dif- 
ferent views  or  disagreeableness,  might  be  avoided. 

The  matter  is  this :  Religious  Orders  naturally  desire  to 
have  the  church  property  which  they_  administer  vested  in  them- 
selves. The  decrees  of  Baltimore  governing  all  the  dioceses  in 
the  States,  require  the  property  of  parishes  and  such  like  to  be 
vested  in  the  Bishops.  If  so,  how  can  Religious  have  charge  of 
parishes?  This  is  the  grave  question.  I  desired  to  obviate  this 
difficulty  by  obtaining  from  Rome  a  moderation,  or  such  an 
entrusting  of  the  parish  as  that  it  should  become  impossible  for 
the  Bishop  to  change  the  administration  without  the  previous 
determination  or  decision  of  the  Propaganda.  But,  it  seems 
that  the  S.  Congregation  will  not  likely  accede.  It  appears 
to  wish,  as  is  natural,  that  the  emoluments  due  the  pastors 
should  belong  to  the  Religious  serving  the  parish;  but 
it  contemplates  the  Bishop  owner  and  unrestricted  in  the 
government. 

I  may  have  presumed  too  much,  or  undertaken  more  than 
I  was  allowed,  when  allowing  all  the  offices  of  a  parish  to  be 
performed  in  St.  Ignatius  Church  in  San  Francisco.     But  now, 


104  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

when  more  explicit  instructions  are  received,  and  when  it  is 
desired  to  build  another  church,  what  should  I  do  not  to  dis- 
please and  yet  do  my  duty? 

Ever  yours,  etc., 

fJosEPH   S.,   A.    S.    Fro. 
Very  Rev.  B.  Villiger,  S.  J.,  Supr.,  etc." 

Another  letter  of  His  Grace  will  throw  additional  light  on 
his  view  of  the  case : 

**  "San  Francisco,  Aug.  22nd,   1861. 

Very  Reverend  dear  Father: 

I  received  in  Placerville  your  esteemed  favor  of  the  12th 
inst.  in  answer  to  my  proposal  of  the  7th.  That  seems  to  ease 
the  main  difficulties.  For,  although  the  Council's  approval  is 
required  for  collecting  through  the  city,  I  think  there  will  be 
no  difficulty  about  it,  if  due  times  and  ways  be  attended  to, 
as  no  doubt  will  be  the  case.  And,  as  for  allowing  you  to  give 
the  last  Sacraments  to  your  penitents  ad  tetnpus,  I  see  no  diffi- 
culty; and  I  feel  all  inclination  to  allow  it,  unless  any  canon 
would  be  found  preventing  me  from  it.  And  this  was  now  my 
only  difficulty  in  your  building  a  new  church,  supposing  that 
you  desired  that  it  should  be  a  parish  church ;  for  then,  it  appeared 
to  me,  that  I  could  not  allow  it  unless  you  would  make  over  to 
me  the  deeds  of  the  church  (which  looked,  at  least,  curious),  or 
unless  I  could  have  obtained  permission  from  Rome  that  you 
and  the  Dominican  Fathers  might  have  retained  the  deed  of 
the  parochial  or  pro-parochial  church,  which,  after  the  departure 
of  Father  Sopranis,  I  learned  from  Rome  the  Holy  See  was 
not  inclined  to  grant.  But,  as  you  do  not  desire  to  retain  the 
parish,  then  all  the  main  embarrassment  seems  to  be  removed. 

Now,  while  I  need  very  badly  the  prayers  of  St.  Ignatius 
and  of  St.  Dominic,  and  their  children's  services  almost  as  badly, 
yet,  put  in  the  position  in  which  I  am  placed,  I  don't  see  that  I 
can  act  differently  from  what  I  am  doing  in  these  things.  And 
I  remain  always, 

Your  Reverence's  servant  and  brother,  etc., 

tjos.   S.,  Abp.  of   S.   Fro. 
Very  Rev.  B.  Villiger,  S.  J.,  Supr.,  etc." 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH   AND    COLLEGE         105 

The  foregoing  letters  clearly  express  the  divided  sentiments 
of  the  Archbishop's  heart,  love  of  the  religious  Orders,  of  which 
he  himself  was  a  distinguished  ornament,  and  concern  for  what 
he  considered  to  be  his  duty  as  Ordinary  of  the  diocese.  Canon- 
ists might  differ,  and  did  differ  with  him  in  the  interpretation 
of  Church  law;  no  one,  however,  impugned  the  motives  which 
inspired  his  action.  Still  the  action,  pure  as  were  its  motives, 
bore  heavily  on  St.  Ignatius.  All  activity,  therefore,  looking  to 
the  erection  of  the  new  church,  was,  for  the  moment,  set  aside, 
and  Superiors  were  to  be  pardoned  for  entertaining  some  appre- 
hensions as  to  the  outcome. 

But,  whether  the  parish  would  or  would  not  be  retained,  for 
the  question  at  the  time  seems  to  have  hinged  on  this,  the  insti- 
tution for  its  development  evidently  needed  more  land.  On 
the  22nd  of  August,  therefore,  the  very  day  on  which  the  second 
letter  of  the  Archbishop  was  penned,  though  naturally  before 
its  receipt,  Father  Maraschi,  through  a  friend,  bought  of  E.  F. 
Northam  and  others  eleven  lots,  having  a  depth  of  75  feet  and 
a  frontage  on  Jessie  Street  of  245  feet.  The  price  paid  was 
$8,456. 

This  purchase  gave  the  Fathers  a  continuous  stretch  of  prop- 
erty from  Market  to  Jessie  Street.  There  remained,  however, 
one  lot,  the  holding  of  Redmond  McCarthy  and  wife,  which 
was  still  required  to  equalize  the  frontage  on  the  two  streets  and 
square  the  property.  Negotiations  looking  to  its  purchase  were 
commenced,  and,  on  September  4th,  brought  to  a  conclusion; 
though,  as  happens  in  such  cases,  the  price  paid  was  double  what 
had  been  given  for  each  of  the  other  eleven.  The  lot  measured 
30  feet  on  Jessie,  but,  strange  to  say,  had  only  a  depth  of  74 
feet.  The  other  lots  were  75.  This  left  a  small  strip  of  land  30 
feet  long  and  one  foot  wide  which  was  necessary  to  complete  the 
whole.  A  deed  for  this  was  obtained  two  days  later,  and  Father 
Maraschi  might  well  congratulate  himself  that,  with  an  expendi- 
ture of  about  $22,000,  he  had  acquired  for  St.  Ignatius  this 
splendid  piece  of  property. 

Father  Buchard  had  already  begun  to  preach  in  the  church, 
and  presently  the  little  edifice  was  taxed  to  its  utmost,  so 
that  crowds  stood  without,  unable  to  gain  admission.  Still 
his  voice,  which  was  remarkably  powerful,   reached   even   to 


io6  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

these;  and  they  stood  in  rapt  admiration,  for  never  before 
had  they  heard  a  man  speak  like  this  man. 

Father  Maraschi,  as  we  have  seen,  had  already,  on  a  former 
occasion,  strengthened  with  iron  braces  the  fragile  little  church, 
but  now  he  feared  lest  the  floor  itself  might  sink  beneath  the 
weight,  and  so  an  iron  pillar  was  placed  under  it  as  an  addi- 
tional precaution  against  accident. 

Among  the  chief  spiritual  works  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
and  one  specially  blessed  and  privileged  by  the  Supreme  Pon- 
tiffs, is  the  establishment  of  Sodalities  in  honor  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin.  A  Sodality  of  the  students  had  been  flourishing  for 
several  years,  and  the  Fathers  now  thought  that  the  time  was 
ripe  for  instituting  one  among  the  men.  The  church  was  well 
attended,  the  sacraments  were  frequented,  there  were  many 
gentlemen  anxious  to  form  a  society  whose  prime  object  was 
devotion  to  the  Mother  of  God,  and  Providence  had  supplied 
in  Father  Buchard  just  the  man  to  begin  it.  On  November 
3rd  the  following  announcement  was  made  in  the  church:  "Next 
Wednesday  evening,  at  7 130  o'clock,  there  will  be  in  this  church, 
a  meeting  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  congregation  for  the  pur- 
pose of  organizing  a  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  Both 
married  and  unmarried  gentlemen  are  invited  to  attend  the 
meeting."  On  the  6th,  therefore,  all  things  were  ready  and  the 
Sodality  was  established.  The  following  is  found  on  the  title 
page  of  its  records : 

"A.  M.  D.   G. 

On  the  6th  of  November,  1861,  Rev.  Father  Buchard,  S.  J., 
organized  the  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  under  the 
title  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  and  the  patronage  of  St. 
Ignatius,  at  the  Church  of  St.  Ignatius,  San  Francisco,  Cal." 
On  the  following  Sunday,  another  notice  informs  the  congre- 
gation that  "next  Wednesday  evening,  at  7 130  o'clock,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Sodality,  with  others  who  may  wish  to  become  mem- 
bers, are  respectfully  invited  to  meet  in  this  church.  It  is  hoped 
that  all  will  be  present,  as  we  wish  to  appoint  officers  and 
practice  the  Office  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  together." 

The  members  of  the  Sodality  included  the  most  prominent 
Catholic  laymen  of  the  city ;  and  there  was  every  reason  to  hope 


FATHER  PATRICK  KELLY,   S.  J. 

FATHER  JAMES  BUCHARD,  S.  J. 

FATHER  FLORENTINE  BOUDREAUX,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH   AND    COLLEGE         107 

much  both  for  the  private  spiritual  welfare  of  those  who  com- 
posed it  and  the  general  good  of  Catholicity  in  San  Francisco, 
from  an  organized  body  of  men  not  ashamed  to  profess  publicly 
the  piety  of  their  hearts.  In  a  noble  existence  of  forty-four  years, 
the  Sodality  has  not  belied  its  promises. 

In  December,  Father  Buchard  gave  a  mission  in  St. 
Ignatius.  It  was  his  first  in  California.  Every  one  was  speak- 
ing of  the  eloquent  preacher  and  the  church  was  the  center 
of  attraction.  Many  consciences  that  had  long  been  dor- 
mant were  roused  into  the  activity  of  a  new  awakening; 
and  many  that  had  long  been  dead,  arose  in  the  newness  of 
spiritual  life.  Conversions,  too,  from  Protestantism  and  Indif- 
ferentism  soon  became  more  marked  and  frequent,  for  the 
charm  of  Father  Buchard's  manner  gave  him  easy  access  to 
hearts  outside  the  fold.  No  wonder,  then,  that  Father  Maraschi 
is  soon  called  upon  to  add  new  confessionals  in  the  church; 
no  wonder  that  in  them  the  Fathers  are  occupied  far  into  the 
night. 

So  ended  1861,  and  with  it  what  we  have  termed  the  period 
of  commencement.  In  it  the  church  and  college  had  labored 
hard  and  struggled  much,  had  been  buffeted  by  wind  and 
tide,  but  still  had  much  to  be  proud  of  in  that  they  had  never 
ceased  to  make  steady  advance.  Their  progress,  however, 
had  been  in  the  broadening  of  their  sphere  of  usefulness  for 
the  spiritual  and  educational  welfare  of  the  Catholics  of  San 
Francisco;  not  in  the  amount  of  money  that  they  were  sup- 
posed to  have  gathered  into  the  Fathers'  coffers.  In  six  years 
the  college  debt  had  almost  doubled.  The  $19,309  of  Decem- 
ber, 1855,  had  grown  to  $36,084  in  December,  1861.  It 
is  true,  indeed,  that  some  ten  or  eleven  thousand  of  this  debt 
represented  the  purchase  of  the  new  land  on  Jessie  Street.  It 
is  likewise  true  that  eleven  thousand  more  had  been  spent  in 
the  purchase  of  the  original  property.  But  even  making  these 
deductions  we  have  still  to  face  the  no  inconsiderable  sum  of 
$14,000. 

How  much  of  this  the  buildings  represented  we  cannot 
say,  but  we  think  that  one  half  would  be  a  very  fair  estimate. 
The  other  half,  or  some  $7,000,  represents  approximately,  there- 


108  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

fore,  the  deficit  in  current  expenses,  a  deficit  in  no  way  due  to  mis- 
management or  extravagance,  but  to  lack  of  needed  support. 

In  six  and  a  half  years,  Father  Maraschi  had  paid  in  interest 
$9,834.  During  the  same  period  the  sum  total  of  collections 
in  the  church  and  the  pew  rent  had  amounted  to  $9,378, 
or  $456  less  than  the  interest.  Are  we  to  wonder,  there- 
fore, that  finances  were  not  flourishing?  Bequests,  as  we  have 
seen,  there  were  practically  none;  alms  came  rarely  and  in 
small  amounts;  the  expenses  of  the  college,  on  account  of 
secular  help  employed,  exceeded  tuition  fees  paid;  the  offerings 
for  baptisms  and  marriages  and  the  masses  of  the  Fathers, 
were  inadequate  to  meet  deficits  in  other  lines  and  give  the 
required  support,  hence  year  by  year,  the  debt  increased.  On 
what,  therefore,  were  the  Fathers  to  carry  on  a  free  school,  for 
some  people  would  have  wished  them  to  do  so?  If  even  in 
a  college  in  which  tuition  was  paid  by  such  as  could,  there 
was  a  yearly  falling  behind  sometimes  of  some  thousands  of 
dollars,  how  were  expenses  to  be  met,  if  even  tuition  fees  were 
cut  off?  It  is  easy  to  see  what  is  better.  It  is  not  so  easy  to 
acquire  the  practical  means  of  achieving  it.  "The  Fathers 
ought  to."  Could  they?  "But  people  were  poor."  So  were 
the  Fathers.  "Ah!  but  the  Fathers  had  valuable  property." 
True;  but  there  was  a  heavy  debt  upon  the  property;  and, 
moreover,  one  does  not  live  on  the  value  of  a  property  but  on 
the  income  derived  from  it.  The  income,  as  we  have  seen, 
did  not  meet  expenses.  People  did  not  stop  to  reason,  much 
less  did  some  cease  to  criticise.  They  had  persuaded  them- 
selves that  the  Fathers  were  rich,  and  that  settled  the  matter. 
The  Fathers  ought  to  carry  on  a  free  school. 

Anxious  to  still  the  tongue  of  even  unfair  criticism,  Father 
Maraschi  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  a  free  parochial 
school  distinct  from  the  college,  and  would  have  done  so  had 
the  parish  not  been  taken  away.  We  are  content  for  the  present 
to  show  the  difficulties  of  the  Fathers'  position,  difficulties 
unimagined  even  by  somewhat  intimate  friends.  How  many, 
for  instance,  stopped  to  consider  how  these  devoted  men,  many 
of  them  eminent  in  scientific  and  theologic  attainments,  had 
arrived  at  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood  and  found  themselves 
administering  the  blessings  of  religion  on  these  distant  shores? 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH   AND    COLLEGE         109 

They  had  gathered  wisdom,  but  they  had  to  be  supported 
while  acquiring  it.  They  had  come  from  Europe  and  the 
Eastern  States.  Passage-money  came  high.  If  health  or 
other  cause  necessitated  the  removal  of  a  Father  from  St. 
Ignatius,  another  equally,  and  perhaps,  more  competent  was 
put  in  his  place.  If  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  congregation 
called  for  more  assistance,  the  number  of  Fathers  was  increased. 
And  all  this  was  done  without  a  cent  of  expense  to  the  diocese 
as  such.    Whence  had  the  money  come? 

In  the  earliest  days,  the  expenses  were  borne  mainly  by 
Santa  Clara  College,  but  as  other  houses  were  organized,  they, 
too,  were  called  upon  to  share  proportionally  in  the  burden, 
and  hence  from  1855  St.  Ignatius  had  been  obliged  to  contribute 
its  part.  The  mother  Province  would  doubtless  willingly  have 
helped,  but  revolution  had  ruined  and  dispersed  it ;  and  unable  to 
supply  for  the  needs  of  those  who  immediately  appealed  to  its 
care  at  home,  it  could  spare  but  little  from  its  poverty  for  its 
subjects  abroad. 

Although  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  gave  according 
to  its  means,  the  Jesuit  Mission  of  California  was  only  one 
of  its  numerous  beneficiaries,  many  of  whom,  among  savage 
and  pagan  tribes,  appealed  more  loudly  for  help  than  a  Mission 
among  civilized  people  in  the  land  of  gold.  Some  donations 
were  received  from  friends  in  Europe  to  help  defray  the 
expenses  of  travel  and  of  the  education  of  members  of  the 
Jesuit  Order,  but  these  amounted  in  all  to  only  $580.  Chief 
among  these  benefactors  was  a  certain  Canon  Ortalda  who, 
unable  himself  to  devote  his  labors  to  the  conversion  of  the 
New  World,  did  what  he  could  to  assist  the  efforts  of  others. 

Poor  Father  Maraschi,  how  he  must  have  toiled,  and 
planned,  and  stinted  himself  to  make  ends  meet,  which,  alas! 
never  met!  The  common  Mission  expenses  of  which  he  had 
to  bear  his  portion,  were  during  this  first  period  $15,110. 
Of  these  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  contributed  $5,600; 
benefactors,  $580;  leaving  the  remaining  $8,930  to  be  por- 
tioned between  Santa  Clara,  San  Jose  and  St.  Ignatius;  and 
though  on  generous  Santa  Clara  the  burden  mainly  rested, 
it  did  not  cease  to  be  a  severe  strain  upon  the  life  and  strength 
of  St.  Ignatius. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Imliijroumt  ISB2--ISZS. 

1862. 

From  what  has  been  hitherto  said,  our  readers  can  easily 
imagine  the  perplexity  in  which  Father  Maraschi  and  his 
associates  were  in  the  opening  days  of  1862.  Build  they  must; 
but  how  and  what?  Put  up  a  larger  church  and  give  the  deed 
of  the  property  into  the  hands  of  the  Ordinary?  This  they 
could  not  do  unauthorized,  for  the  land  belonged  to  the  Jesuit 
Order  at  large  and  they  were  only  administrators.  They  would 
have  to  refer  the  matter  to  the  proper  authorities  and  await 
directions.  Moreover,  was  it,  after  all,  wise  to  build  a  perma- 
nent church,  in  view  of  the  rapid  growth  of  San  Francisco,  a 
growth  which  in  time  might  necessitate,  for  the  institution, 
a  change  of  location?  Was  it  possible  to  build  a  church  of 
the  dimensions  that  would  be  needed  in  the  course  of  time  ?  And 
whence  was  the  money  to  come  for  this  magnificent  structure? 

Nor  were  these  the  only  sides  to  the  problem.  The  college, 
too,  was  clamoring  for  a  home  better  suited  to  the  respectability 
and  growing  numbers  of  its  pupils.  Which  should  have  the 
preference,  church  or  college?  The  problem,  therefore,  that 
confronted  the  Fathers,  was  the  one  that  is  ever  paramount 
in  new  parishes  in  America,  and  which  is  solved  variously 
according  to  the  degree  of  stress  laid  upon  the  Christian 
education  of  youth.  The  pastor  whose  vision  is  bounded  by 
the  immediate  needs  of  the  present,  will  select  church  in  prefer- 
ence to  school;  the  pastor  who  looks  carefully  into  the  future, 
will  strive  in  the  present  to  put  up  his  school,  certain  that  in 
the  days  to  come,  his  permanent  church  will  follow. 

In  the  inability,  therefore,  to  meet  the  outlay  required  to 
put  up  the  church  of  the  future;  in  the  uncertainties  that  sur- 
rounded the  site;  in  the  disquietude  consequent  on  the  letters 
of  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop;  on  the  principle  that  Christian 
education  demanded  precedence,  the  Fathers  determined  to 
erect  the  college.  A  college  and  college  residence  were  there- 
fore determined  upon,  the  college  building  to  consist  of  three 


H2  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

stories,  of  which  the  lowest  should  contain  the  classrooms, 
and  the  two  higher,  the  college  hall  which  might  be  used  for 
divine  worship  until  such  time  as  the  church  proper  should 
be  built. 

The  plan  was  neither  new  nor  uncommon.  Congregations 
before  1862  and  since,  have  used  the  halls  of  their  school- 
houses  as  places  of  worship,  when,  either  on  account  of  lack 
of  funds  or  other  cause,  a  more  decent  place  could  not  be 
had.  If  the  plan  be  meritorious  in  others,  it  certainly  was  not 
blameworthy  in  St.  Ignatius.  Had  the  Fathers  wished,  they 
could  have  built  a  church.  His  Grace  had  not  forbidden  them 
to  build  one.  He  had  expressly  said,  in  his  letter,  that  if  the 
church  were  not  a  parish  church  the  main  difficulties  were 
removed.  The  whole  question  had  arisen  about  the  Council 
of  Baltimore  and  parish  churches.  He  had  even  said  that 
he  did  not  see  any  difficulty  about  collecting  for  a  collegiate 
church  provided  that  due  prudence  were  used  as  to  the  time 
and  ways.  Father  Villiger,  the  Superior  of  the  Jesuits  in  Cali- 
fornia, had  told  him  that  so  far  as  he  (Father  Villiger)  was 
concerned,  he  would  prefer  to  give  up  the  parish  rather  than 
resign  the  deeds.  But  here  again,  as  the  matter  was  beyond 
his  jurisdiction,  he  would  have  to  refer  the  whole  subject  to 
higher  Superiors.  A  college,  therefore,  was  to  be  built,  and 
until  the  matter  in  dispute  regarding  the  parish  should  be 
settled,  the  college  hall  was  to  be  used  as  a  church.  When 
everything  would  be  clear,  and  funds  would  be  forthcoming, 
the  church  proper  would  be  attended  to. 

In  view  of  the  delicate  condition  of  affairs  and  to  smooth 
over  difficulties,  it  was  thought  well  by  the  Jesuit  Superiors  to 
confide  St.  Ignatius  to  the  care  of  Father  Nicholas  Congiato,  an 
old  friend  of  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop.  Father  Maraschi, 
moreover,  the  man  of  business,  could  not  be  expected  to  attend 
to  his  duties  in  connection  with  the  proposed  building,  and  at 
the  same  time  preside  over  the  college  in  its  domestic  and 
other  relations.  Father  Congiato  was  announced  as  Presi- 
dent on  January  21st. 

To  him,  doubtless,  is  due  the  perfection  of  college  organiza- 
tion which  we  find  in  St.  Ignatius  this    year,  for  his  earlier 


FATHER  NICHOLAS  CONGIATO,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         113 

experience  had  well  fitted  him  for  the  work.  Father 
Boudreaux  is  prefect  of  studies;  Father  Vanzina,  prefect  of 
discipline;  Father  Buchard,  chaplain.  The  appointment  of 
Father  Congiato  was  contemporaneous  with  the  great  flood 
that  swept  over  the  San  Joaquin  and  lower  Sacramento  val- 
leys, and  drove  thousands  of  people  for  refuge  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. "For  several  days,"  says  Hittell,  "the  Statehouse  in 
Sacramento  was  not  accessible  without  the  aid  of  boats" 
(History  of  San  Francisco,  p.  334)  ;  and  the  suggestive  item 
in  Father  Maraschi's  accounts — "January  28th — Workmen 
pumping  water  for  seven  days" — would  seem  to  indicate  that 
a  similar  condition  of  affairs  existed  at  St.  Ignatius.  To  say 
that  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  but  feebly  expresses  the  deluge  of 
that  downpour.  It  rained  with  ceaseless  fury  until  the  very 
sand  itself  refused  to  drink  it  in,  and  then  in  floods  it  swept 
down  through  Stockton  Street  and  formed  a  lake  several  feet 
in  depth,  in  and  around  church  and  college.  Years  afterwards, 
a  line  traced  by  the  water  could  be  plainly  seen  around  the 
walls  of  the  basement.  The  city  had  never  expected  such  a 
visitation.  On  the  19th  of  the  month,  a  collection  "for  the  suf- 
ferers from  the  flood"  had  been  taken  up  in  the  church. 
During  the  following  week,  it  was  almost  in  order  for  the 
Fathers  to  apply  the  proceeds  to  themselves. 

This  passing  mishap,  however,  was  not  allowed  to  derange 
the  plans  for  building  which  had  been  matured,  and  so,  on  Feb- 
ruary 3rd,  Father  Villiger  came  up  to  San  Francisco  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  Hugh  McKeadney  to  start  the  work.  Mr. 
McKeadney  was  a  skillful  architect  and  builder,  and  was,  at 
the  time,  a  novice  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  having  entered 
the  Order  on  November  26th  of  the  preceding  year.  Having 
formed  the  plans,  he  was  to  supervise  the  construction.  Father 
Villiger  was  also  to  aid  the  work  with  his  counsel  and  direc- 
tion, and  that  he  might  be  the  freer  to  do  so,  he  had,  on  the 
same  day  that  Father  Congiato  assumed  charge  of  St.  Ignatius, 
resigned  the  immediate  care  of  Santa  Clara  to  Father  Joseph 
Caredda. 

The  scene  was  soon  a  busy  one,  for  Father  Villiger  was  a 
man  of  earnest,   energetic  action;   and  passers-by  were  pres- 


ii4  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

ently  marveling  at  the  broad  lines  on  which  the  structure  was 
to  rise.  On  the  20th  of  the  month,  he  returned  to  Santa  Clara 
for  a  brief  stay;  and  about  March  8th,  took  up  his  permanent 
residence  in  St.  Ignatius.  He  did  not,  however,  so  resign  the 
affairs  of  Santa  Clara  into  Father  Caredda's  hands,  as  totally 
to  abdicate  his  powers  as  President  of  the  college;  but  he 
retained  a  sort  of  supreme  direction,  which  he  exercised  by 
fairly  frequent  visits  to  the  institution,  leaving  ordinary  details 
and  management  in  the  hands  of  his  able  substitute. 

Permanent  and  substantial  improvements  such  as  the 
Fathers  were  engaged  in,  could  not  but  react  powerfully  on 
their  surroundings.  We  are,  therefore,  not  surprised  to  learn 
that  in  the  early  months  of  this  year,  Jessie  Street  was  graded 
and  planked,  and  furnished  with  a  sidewalk,  or  that  the  cross- 
ing at  Fourth  and  Market  Streets  was  for  the  first  time  planked. 

As  May  opened,  the  foundations  of  residence  and  college  had 
so  far  progressed  that  arrangements  were  in  order  for  the  laying 
of  the  cornerstone.  The  nth  of  the  month  was  selected  for  the 
ceremony.  It  was  the  Feast  of  the  Patronage  of  St.  Joseph,  and 
the  Fathers  desired  thus  to  join  the  Holy  Patriarch,  to  whom 
Father  Villiger  and  Father  Congiato  were  very  specially  devoted, 
with  his  chaste  Spouse,  as  heavenly  protectors  of  the  new  enter- 
prise. His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  was  unavoidably  absent  from 
the  city,  and  so  he  delegated  the  Rt.  Rev.  Peter  Losa,  the  exiled 
Bishop  of  Sonora,  Mexico,  to  replace  him.  The  orator  on  the 
occasion  was  Rev.  Father  James  Croke,  the  Vicar  General.  We 
subjoin  a  testimonial  of  the  good  Bishop  in  reference  to  the 
event.  It  was  given  by  him  to  the  Fathers  some  nine  months 
later,  when  it  was  deemed  desirable  to  have  it : 

** 
"Petrus  Losa,  Dei  et  Apostolicae  Sedis  gratia,  in  Republica  Mexi- 
cana,  Senorensis  Episcopus: 

Omnibus  et  singulis  has  litteras  inspecturis  notum  sit,  quod 
Anno  a  Nativitate  Domini  Millesimo  octingentesimo  sexagesimo 
secundo,  die  vero  undecima  Mensis  Maii,  quae  fuit  Dominica 
tertia  post  Pascha,  et  festum  Patrocinii  Sancti  Joseph  Sponsi 
B.  V.  M.,  hora  tertia  post  meridiem,  de  speciali  delegatione  Ill'mi 
ac  Rev'mi  D.  D.  Fr.  Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany  hujus  dioecesis  dig- 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH   AND    COLLEGE         115 

nissimi  Archiepiscopi,  ad  majorem  Dei  gloriam,  fundamenta 
hujus  Collegii  Sancti  Ignatii,  in  civitate  Sancti  Francisci  in 
California,  solemniter  benedixi  et  angularem  lapidem  rite  imposui. 
In  quorum  fidem  presentes  litteras  manu  propria  conscriptas  ac 
signatas  expedii,  in  eadem  civitate  Sancti  Francisci,  die  27  Feb- 
ruarii,  Anni  Domini  1863. 

f  Petrus, 
Episcopus  Senorensis." 

"Peter  Losa,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  of  the  'Apostolic  See, 
Bishop  of  Sonora,  Mexico: 
Be  it  known  to  each  and  every  one  to  whose  notice  these 
letters  may  come,  that  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1862,  at  3  p.  m., 
on  the  nth  of  May,  the  third  Sunday  after  Easter  and  the  Feast 
of  the  Patronage  of  St.  Joseph,  Spouse  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  in  virtue  of  special  delegation  made  by  the  Most  Illustrious 
and  Reverend  Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany,  most  worthy  Archbishop 
of  this  diocese,  I,  to  the  greater  glory  of  God,  solemnly  blessed 
the  foundations  of  the  College  of  St.  Ignatius  in  the  City  of  San 
Francisco  and  duly  laid  the  cornerstone.  In  testimony  whereof, 
I  have  written  these  letters  with  my  own  hand,  and  sent  them 
properly  signed  in  this  same  City  of  San  Francisco,  February 
27th,  1863. 

t  Peter, 
Bishop  of  Sonora." 

The  throng  that  gathered  on  the  occasion  was  very  large; 
the  function  the  most  splendid  that  San  Francisco  had  ever  wit- 
nessed. The  Gentlemen's  Sodality  was  there  in  force  and  made  a 
deep  impression ;  and  the  heart  of  the  exiled  prelate  throbbed  with 
joy  that,  amid  the  indifference  to  religion  which  he  could  not 
but  see  on  every  side,  there  was  still  so  much  real  faith  and 
sincere  piety  in  the  Catholics  of  the  city. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  had  been  estab- 
lished in  the  preceding  November,  and  had  flourished  from  the 
start.  The  ladies  of  the  congregation  soon  began  to  look  with 
envious  eyes  upon  the  organization,  and  to  ask  why  they,  too, 
might  not  have  a  like  Sodality.  Surely  they  were  as  devoted  to 
the  Virgin  Mother  as  the  men;  if  any  doubt  existed,  well,  just 
give  them  a  chance  to  disprove  it.     The  month    of    May  was 


n6  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

here,  and  it  was  judged  the  most  fitting  time  to  yield  to  their 
request.  On  the  nth  of  the  month  consecrated  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  therefore,  this  notice  was  read  in  the  church:  "The 
Catholic  ladies  of  San  Francisco,  and  of  this  congregation  in 
particular,  are  respectfully  invited  to  assemble  in  this  church  at 
3  o'clock  p.  m.  next  Wednesday,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing 
a  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  A  punctual  attendance 
is  earnestly  requested."  So  generous  was  the  response  to  this 
invitation,  and  so  rapid  the  growth  of  the  Sodality,  that,  by  the 
end  of  the  month  it  far  outnumbered  that  of  the  men.  On  the 
28th  it  could  boast,  and  doubtless  did,  with  laudable  pride,  of 
a  regular  membership  of  two  hundred  and  ninety.  It  had, 
besides,  some  fifteen  postulants.  Its  director  was  Father 
Buchard;  its  prefect,  Mrs.  Tidball. 

Two  marble  altars  had  already  been  ordered  from  Italy,  and 
they  reached  St.  Ignatius  on  the  30th  of  May.  One  was  the 
altar  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  is  at  present  the  chief  altar  in 
the  chapel  of  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality.  The  other,  the  altar  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  afterwards  improved  and  beautified  by  the 
generosity  of  Mrs.  Bertha  Welch,  adorns  the  domestic  chapel 
of  the  Fathers. 

Day  by  day  the  walls  of  the  college  became  more  imposing 
in  their  plain  simplicity ;  and  by  the  end  of  July  $60,000  had  been 
spent  upon  them.  Of  this  sum,  $55,000  had  been  borrowed  from 
the  Hibernia  Bank  at  the  rate  of  one  per  cent  a  month  interest; 
the  remaining  $5,000  had  been  made  up,  partly  by  the  ordinary 
revenues  of  church  and  college,  partly  by  voluntary  gifts. 
Pending  the  settlement  of  the  question  regarding  the  parish,  the 
Fathers  were  not  allowed  to  collect  through  the  city.  They  had, 
therefore,  to  content  themselves  with  what  was  freely  offered, 
and,  to  tell  the  truth,  the  offerings  were  generally  small.  Two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  was  certainly  not  a  large  amount, 
yet  it  was  the  largest  individual  gift  that  the  Fathers  received, 
and  the  number  of  donors  could  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of 
one  hand.  Most  of  the  offerings  were  of  five  and  ten  dollars  and 
smaller  sums;  but,  while  they  did  not  go  far  towards  settling 
the  claims  of  creditors,  they  brought  with  them  God's  bless- 
ing, for  they  represented  the  sacrifices  of  the  poor.     It  is  pleasant 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         117 

to  note  the  names  of  members  of  the  secular  clergy  among  the 
contributors,  notably  those  of  Fathers  Michael  King,  Hugh 
Gallagher  and  M.  Cassin,  sincere  friends,  who  many  times  and 
in  most  varied  ways,  had  shown  an  affection  which  the  Jesuits 
of  California  should  ever  hold  in  fond  remembrance. 

Meanwhile,  Father  Buchard  had  received  an  invitation  to 
Grass  Valley  to  give  a  mission.  Though  his  fame  had  gone 
before  him,  he  surpassed  what  had  been  said  of  him.  Deep 
and  heartfelt  were  the  encomiums  passed  upon  his  eloquence 
and  zeal;  and  his  manifest  disinterestedness  charmed  both 
pastor  and  people.  He  made  many  friends  for  himself  and  for 
his  Order,  and  the  friends  that  he  made  were  sincere  and 
lifelong. 

On  July  2 1  st,  Father  Vanzina  departed  for  the  Missions 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  there  to  labor  zealously  for  some 
eighteen  years,  until,  on  June  19th,  1880,  the  Angel  of  Death 
should  summon  him  to  the  reward  of  a  well  spent  life. 

The  new  scholastic  year  found  Father  Benedict  Piccardo 
back  in  St.  Ignatius,  this  time  in  the  role  of  professor  of  ancient 
and  modern  languages.  Good,  simple  Father  Piccardo!  who 
does  not  remember  him  of  the  facile  pen,  from  which  Latin 
hexameters  flowed  with  astonishing  ease  and  elegance?  Who 
that  ever  came  in  contact  with  him  has  not  seen  him  glow 
with  enthusiasm  at  the  mere  mention  of  the  name  of  Virgil, 
the  "Aeneid"  of  whom  he  almost  knew  by  heart?  Start  a  line 
at  random,  and  Father  Piccardo,  even  in  his  declining  years, 
when  age  might  have  been  thought  to  have  impaired  a  mem- 
ory that  had  passed  the  limit  of  seventy,  would  immediately 
continue  the  text,  the  length  of  continuance  being  measured 
alone  by  some  chance  interruption  or  the  indulgence  of  his  lis- 
tener. His  devotion  to  Virgil,  for  it  would  be  hard  to  speak 
of  it  by  any  other  name,  may  indeed  at  times  have  amused 
by  the  very  intensity  of  its  earnestness;  but  it  never  failed  to 
produce  its  effect  upon  the  minds  of  his  pupils,  and  stir  up  a  spirit 
of  loving  regard  for  the  classics. 

Toward  the  end  of  August,  the  big  bell,  whose  tongue  in 
those  many,  many  years  has  called  so  many  thousands  to  prayer, 
was  purchased  from  the  firm  of  Conroy  and  O'Connor.  It  had 
been  destined  for  the  Fire  Department  of  the  city,  and  had  been 


n8  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

cast  in  England.  Its  name  was  the  "San  Francisco."  Weighing 
a  ton  and  a  half,  its  advent  was  noised  abroad,  the  more  so  that 
the  department  was  out  of  funds  and  could  not  ratify  the  pur- 
chase. The  importing  firm,  therefore,  offered  the  bell  for  sale. 
In  a  short  Memorial  written  by  Father  Villiger  in  1900,  when 
he  was  Rector  in  the  Jesuit  Scholasticate  at  Woodstock,  Md., 
we  find  the  following  account  of  how  the  Fathers  came  to  acquire 
the  bell. 

**  "Father  Maraschi  and  myself  going  one  day  to  take 
a  walk,  we  came  to  the  iron  foundry  of  Donohue  or  O'Donohue, 
and  saw  a  whole  row  of  cast  steel  bells  ranged  on  the  side- 
walk, all  from  England;  one  bell  was  very  large,  with  the 
inscription  'San  Francisco'  on  it.  I  believe  it  measured  6  feet  at 
the  mouth  and  had  a  fine  sonorous  sound.  'Father,'  said  I,  'that 
would  be  a  fine  college  bell,  but  we  have  no  money  to  buy  it. 
Well,  let  us  go  and  see  the  gentlemen.'  We  were  informed  that 
England  expected  San  Francisco  to  buy  the  big  bell  as  a  fire  bell 
for  the  city.  'Mr.  Donohue,'  I  said,  'it  would  be  a  fine  college 
bell,  but  we  are  too  poor.'  After  about  three  weeks,  the  big  cast 
steel  bell  was  marched  up  Market  Street  to  the  college  of  the 
Jesuits  and  deposited  inside  about  the  middle  of  the  garden;  it 
was  accompanied  by  a  letter  from  Mr.  Donohue  (if  I  remember 
the  right  name),  in  which  he  said,  'I  send  this  cast  steel  bell, 
marked  "San  Francisco,"  as  a  present  to  the  Jesuit  Fathers  of 
San  Francisco;  such  a  day,  month  and  year,  Donohue.'  Father 
Congiato  kept  the  letter.  .  .  .  And  so  we  put  up  a  skele- 
ton of  a  tower  of  big  beams,  30  feet  high,  in  the  garden,  and 
placed  the  bell  on  its  top.  We  rang  it  regularly  for  the  college 
exercises  and  the  Angelus,  and  its  peal  resounded  for  miles 
around." 

Father  Villiger  was  right  in  distrusting  his  memory  as  to 
the  firm  from  which  he  had  obtained  the  bell.  It  was  the  hard- 
ware firm  of  Conroy  and  O'Connor,  not  the  foundry  of  Mr. 
Donohue.  But  we  think  that  he  has  erred  upon  the  other  point 
of  its  being  a  present.  The  books  of  Father  Maraschi  show 
that  $1,350  were  paid  for  the  bell.  The  account  opens  on  Sep- 
tember 2nd,  1862,  under  the  heading,  "Big  Bell;  Dr.  $1,350;  con- 
tribution to-day  $149.50."    By  March  1st,  1863,  $700  of  the  debt 


FATHER  BURCHARI)   VILLIGER,   S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         ug 

had  been  paid;  some  more  of  the  money  was  given  later;  but 
it  was  only  on  April  ist,  1866,  through  a  contribution  of  $330 
from  the  Altar  Society,  that  the  whole  debt  was  paid.  "Altar 
Society,  April  ist,  1866:  $300  balance  for  the  bell,"  is  the  entry. 
It  may  be,  for  we  are  in  no  position  to  form  a  judgment  in 
the  matter,  that  the  bell  was  sold  at  such  a  price  that  it  had 
much  the  nature  of  a  gift.  It  is  certain  that  through  the  kind- 
ness of  the  sellers,  the  Fathers  were  given  their  own  time  for 
payment.  We  have  no  desire  to  minimize,  much  less  to  deny, 
the  goodness  of  the  benefactors  of  St.  Ignatius;  but  we  must, 
for  all  that,  state  facts  as  we  find  them.  It  was  thought,  at  the 
time,  and  the  report  even  reached  the  ears  of  the  Archbishop, 
that  the  Sodalities  had  made  a  present  of  the  bell.  It  was  even 
said  more  definitely  that  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  was  the  donor. 
It  is  certain  that  the  Sodality's  members  contributed,  as  did 
others ;  but  the  Sodality,  as  a  Sodality,  did  not  present  the  bell. 
Had  such  presentation  been  made,  the  accounts  of  the  organiza- 
tion would  contain  a  record  of  the  gift ;  finances  would  have  been 
in  a  condition  to  justify  it;  members  prominent  at  the  time,  and 
still  living,  would  remember  the  donation.  The  concurrent  testi- 
mony of  all  is  that  no  such  gift  was  made. 

As  September  drew  near,  the  building  was  so  well  advanced 
that  the  visits  of  Father  Villiger  to  Santa  Clara  became  more 
frequent  and  protracted.  On  the  ist  of  the  month,  he  addressed 
the  pupils  shortly  after  the  reopening  of  classes ;  on  the  9th,  he 
returned  to  San  Francisco,  but  only  for  the  day;  hence,  the  fol- 
lowing letter  of  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  reached  him  in 
Santa  Clara: 

"San  Francisco,  Sept.   10th,   1862. 
Very  Reverend  dear  Sir: 

I  think  it  is  time  that  I  should  comply  with  the  wishes  of 
the  Church,  which  directs  the  Bishops  in  the  United  States  to 
have  parochial  or  pro-parochial  churches  in  their  name.  This 
I  should  doubtless  have  done  long  ago;  but,  desiring  always  to 
avoid  anything  which  might  have  the  appearance  of  unfriendly 
feeling,  I  have  put  it  off.  Not  to  fail,  however,  any  longer  in 
this  duty,  I  feel  obliged  to  state  to  you  that  I  believe  the  deed  of 
your  church  in  this  city  should  be  m  my  name;  and  that,  unless 


120  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

it  be  conveyed  to  me  within  twelve  months,  I  will  consider  that 
you  are  not  much  interested  in  keeping  the  parish  in  the  same 
church,  and  myself  bound  to  let  said  parish  cease  in  said  church. 
Of  course,  this  is  not  intended  to  give  trouble  to  anybody:  had 
we  marked  out  more  clearly  the  boundaries  of  the  respective 
rights  of  regulars  and  seculars,  perhaps  we  might  have  avoided 
the  little  troubles  which  now  seem  unavoidable.  I  think,  there- 
fore, that  the  defining  now  of  these  boundaries  in  a  way  clear 
to  both  parties,  is  the  only  means  of  dissipating  such  troubles 
now  and  hereafter. 

Respectfully  yours  in  Christ, 

f  Joseph   S.,   Abp.   of   S.   Francisco. 
Very  Rev.  B.  Villiger,  S.  J.,  Supr." 

The  reader  will  have  noticed  in  the  preceding  letter,  that 
His  Grace  makes  no  complaint  either  of  the  building  of  the 
college  or  of  the  future  use  of  the  college  hall  as  a  provisional 
church,  for  on  these  heads  there  neither  had  been  nor  was  any 
controversy;  the  whole  question  at  issue  was  the  retaining  of 
the  rights  of  a  parish  without  the  surrender  of  the  deeds  to  land 
and  buildings. 

There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  the  Fathers,  at  this  time, 
desired  to  keep  the  parish,  for  they  did  not  see  clearly  how  other- 
wise they  could  maintain  their  institution.  If,  even  with  parish 
revenues,  they  were  constantly  sinking  deeper  into  debt,  what 
would  they  do  when  even  these  would  be  cut  off?  The  parish 
had,  moreover,  been  freely  given  them,  and  might  not  be  with- 
drawn without  a  sufficient  reason;  the  reason  adduced,  as  we 
shall  see  later,  they  could  not  consider  sufficient,  and  hence  they 
felt  reluctant  to  give  up  the  parish. 

No  answer  seems  to  have  been  returned  to  the  notification 
of  His  Grace,  for  the  document  contained  merely  a  statement  of 
his  position  in  the  matter,  and  a  time  limit  within  which  the 
Fathers  should  decide  what  they  intended  to  do.  A  year's  grace 
was  given  for  the  adjusting  of  difficulties;  meanwhile,  they 
referred,  as  in  duty  bound,  the  whole  affair  to  higher  Superiors 
in  Rome.  While  sympathizing  with  his  Californian  subjects  in 
their  difficulties,  and  hoping  for  a  solution  satisfactory  to  all 
concerned,    the    prudent    General    strongly    insisted    with    the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         121 

Fathers  that,  no  matter  what  the  merits  of  their  cause  might  be, 
they  must  in  nothing  give  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  just  cause 
of  offense. 

**  "Meanwhile,"  he  wrote  to  Father  Congiato  on  Decem- 
ber 20th,  "I  recommend  to  all,  prudence  and  charity,  in  order 
that  the  cause  of  religion  may  not  suffer  through  fault  on  our 
part.  In  all  these  matters,  we  must  show  ourselves  solicitous  in 
regard  to  apostolic  authority,  which  must  be  upheld  and  rever- 
enced much  more  than  any  private  advantage  of  ours  resulting 
to  us  from  our  privileges.  What  is  now  happening  with  you 
is  not  new  in  the  Society  of  Jesus  even  since  its  re-establishment. 
On  many  other  occasions  have  we  come  forth  from  similar,  and 
even  graver  difficulties,  by  placing  all  our  trust  in  the  Lord.  Be, 
therefore,  brave  of  heart  and  keep  me  informed  of  the  course 
that  matters  will  take. 

I  am,  in  union  of  the  Sacred  Hearts, 

Your  Reverence's  servant  in  Christ, 

Peter  Beckx,   S.  J." 

And  again,  in  another  letter  written  a  little  later,  the  same 
due  consideration  for  ecclesiastical  authority  is  enjoined. 

"I  beseech  you  again,"  says  the  General,  "that  you  proceed 
with  all  modesty  and  patience,  giving  offense  to  no  one;  mean- 
while, let  us  not  despair ;  those  who  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy. 
I  hope  that  all  will  end  well.    Let  us  pray  and  hope." 

So  the  year  wore  on  and  December  came,  and  with  it  the 
practical  completion  of  the  building.  One  hundred  and  two 
thousand  and  some  five  hundred  dollars  had  been  spent  on  it, 
of  which  only  about  five  thousand  three  hundred  had  been 
contributed.  The  rest  had  been  borrowed,  chiefly,  as  we  have 
stated,  at  the  rate  of  one  per  cent  a  month.  The  college  debt 
had  assumed  the  formidable  proportions  of  $139,714. 

By  the  22nd  of  the  month,  the  marble  altars  mentioned  above 
were  in  place,  and  on  Christmas  Day  the  edifice  was  thrown 
open  for  worship.  It  was  of  brick,  severely  plain  in  style  but 
substantial  and  commodious.  The  church  ran  north  and  south, 
parallel  to  the  western  boundary  of  the  lot,  but  leaving  a 
passage-way  between  itself  and  the  adjoining  property.     This 


122  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

vacant  space  served  many  useful  purposes.  It  permitted  the 
proper  lighting  of  the  classrooms  which,  as  we  have  said,  were 
in  the  lowest  story.  It  ensured  proper  ventilation,  should  build- 
ings rise  on  the  adjacent  land.  It  served  as  an  outlet  from  the 
church  in  case  of  an  emergency. 

The  classrooms  were  large  and  airy,  and  extended  the  whole 
length  of  the  building.  They  were  in  two  rows,  a  fair-sized 
corridor  separating  them.  Two  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  of 
the  Fathers'  residence,  and  fronting  on  Market  Street,  were 
devoted  to  science.  Between  these  last,  there  was  a  permanent 
partition;  not  so,  however,  between  the  others.  With  these, 
everything  save  the  outer  walls,  was  movable. 

The  residence  ran  east  and  west,  a  little  back  from  Market 
Street  and  facing  it;  and  reached  from  the  college  hall  or 
church,  whichever  one  is  pleased  to  call  it,  nearly  to  the  old 
transformed  buildings  of  1855.  The  parlors  were  in  the  second 
story,  one  to  the  east  of  the  entrance  and  three  to  the  west. 
These  latter  reached  from  the  entrance  to  the  church,  so  that,  by 
a  door  in  the  wall,  easy  access  was  had  from  residence  to  church 
or  vice  versa.  The  college  entrance  was  on  Jessie  Street,  a  board 
sidewalk  connecting  the  gate  with  the  building. 

It  is  hard  to  realize  the  almost  thrilling  effect  that  the 
change  from  old  conditions  to  new,  had  both  upon  pupils  and 
congregation.  Church  and  college  were  now  the  best  in  the 
city,  and  for  most  people  the  best  is  ever  attractive.  Hence,  in 
both,  steady  and  rapid  growth  was  the  immediate  result, 
so  that  by  the  end  of  the  year,  the  pupils  in  the  college 
numbered  457. 

1863. 
The  4th  of  February,  1863,  called  into  existence  the  first 
debating  society  in  St.  Ignatius.  Like  that  of  many  another 
first-born,  its  name  must  have  been  a  matter  of  long  and  deep 
consideration.  It  had  to  be  learned,  uncommon,  drawn  from 
the  parent  Greek,  and  with  enough  roll  to  it  to  give  due  distinc- 
tion to  such  as  fortune  favored  sufficiently  to  admit  as  members. 
The  word  Philodianosian  answered  the  requirements  and  Philo- 
dianosian  became  the  name  of  the  society.  The  object  "was  the 
improvement  of  the  members  in  debate,  social  advancement  and 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH   AND    COLLEGE         123 

general  literature."  Its  officers  were  Prof.  W.  J.  G.  Williams, 
president;  A.  J.  Bowie,  vice-president;  H.  P.  Bowie,  secretary; 
G.  K.  Pardow,  treasurer;  A.  A.  Pardow,  librarian;  A.  A.  O'Neil, 
censor. 

The  only  record  extant  of  the  society  is  a  set  of  resolutions 
presented  by  it  to  Professor  Williams;  but  this  record  is  highly 
creditable  to  its  members,  for  it  evidently  proceeds  from  grateful 
hearts,  and  grateful  hearts  are  always  manly. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Philo-Dianosian 
Society,  held  in  their  hall  on  Thursday  morning,  June  4th, 
1863,  tne  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted: 

Whereas,  cognizant  of  the  approaching  close  of  the  schol- 
astic year,  and  of  the  adjournment  of  the  Society  'sine  die,'  and 

Whereas,  Prof.  J.  G.  Williams,  having  presided  over  the 
Society  since  its  formation,  and  having  at  heart  the  encourage- 
ment and  advancement  of  its  members,  has  kindly  extended  to 
us  the  benefit  of  his  knowledge  and  experience  by  the  gentle- 
manly manner  in  which  he  has  fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  office 
and  conducted  the  transactions  of  the  Society,  and 

Whereas,  in  return  for  the  care  and  interest  shown  by  him 
in  enabling  the  members  of  the  said  Society  to  overcome  the 
many  obstacles  that  they  have  encountered,  it  is  only  meet  that 
we  make  return, 

Resolved,  that  the  sincere  and  grateful  thanks  of  the  mem- 
bers of  this  Society  be  and  hereby  are  tendered  to  that  gentle- 
man, 

Resolved,  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  presented  to 
President  W.  J.  G.  Williams  at  the  final  meeting  of  the  Society, 
and  a  copy  of  the  same  be  inscribed  in  the  records  of  the  Society 
to  be  read  at  the  opening  of  the  Society  next  term. 

Aug.  J.   Bowie,  V.   P., 
H.  Bowie,  Secretary.  President  pro  tern." 

In  the  following  session,  for  some  reason  or  other,  the  mem- 
bers did  not  reassemble  and  the  society  passed  out  of  existence. 
It  was  for  the  more  advanced  pupils  of  the  college,  of  whom  it 
had  enrolled  some  fourteen. 

Towards  the  end  of  May,  Father  Felix  Sopranis  paid  a 
second  visit  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.     This  time  he  came 


124  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

from  Kingston,  Jamaica,  in  company  with  Father  Joseph 
Cataldo.  Vested  as  he  was  with  more  than  ordinary  powers  as 
Visitor  of  the  Jesuit  houses  in  America,  and  personally  ac- 
quainted with  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  it  was  hoped  that  he 
might  bring  about  a  better  understanding  in  the  matter  of  the 
parish,  and  soothe  irritation,  had  any  been  engendered. 

Reaching  San  Francisco  on  the  28th  of  the  month,  he 
marveled  much  at  the  immense  strides  that  our  city  was 
making,  and  highly  complimented  the  Fathers  on  the  advance 
made  during  his  two  years  of  absence.  His  wishes  expressed 
on  the  former  visit  that  a  new  building  should  replace  the  old, 
had  been  more  than  realized. 

The  scholastic  year  ended  with  the  30th  of  June,  and  the 
parents  and  friends  of  the  pupils  flocked  to  the  exhibition.  The 
partitions  that  divided  the  basement  into  classrooms  had  all 
been  removed,  thus  throwing  the  whole  space  into  one  large 
hall.  Desks  had  been  taken  out;  chairs  had  been  supplied  and 
arranged  in  tiers  rising  one  above  the  other;  a  stage  had  been 
built ;  and  the  young  participants,  in  all  the  flutter  of  excitement, 
waited  anxiously  for  the  hour  of  commencement. 

The  morning  exercises  were  literary,  musical  and  scientific, 
the  music  being  supplied  by  the  Santa  Clara  College  Band 
under  the  directorship  of  Father  Joseph  Caredda,  and  the 
encomiums  showered  upon  it  were  another  proof  of  how  well 
it  merited  the  name  it  bore,  of  ranking,  at  the  time,  among  the 
foremost  musical  organizations  in  the  State.  Chemistry  in  all 
the  novelty  of  experiment  was  presented  by  the  students 
devoted  to  that  branch;  and  a  familiar  style  of  declamation 
joined  to  skilful  manipulation,  left  nothing  to  be  desired  in 
the  young  lecturers. 

The  evening  entertainment  was  dramatic.  The  subject  was 
a  sacred  one,  "Joseph  and  his  Brethren,"  and  was  presented 
in  two  acts.  Joseph  was  impersonated  by  James  M.  O'Sullivan, 
at  present  a  Jesuit  Father  in  Santa  Clara  College.  The  parts 
of  Issachar  and  Nepthali,  brethren  of  Joseph,  were  taken 
respectively  by  Hon.  Jeremiah  F.  Sullivan,  and  Hon.  Frank 
Sullivan,  at  that  time  students  of  grammar  in  the  college. 
William  Kelly,  son  of  James  R.  Kelly,  appeared  as  Gad;  Alfred 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         125 

Pardow  as  Dan;  George  Pardow  and  Henry  P.  Bowie  as 
friends  and  confidants  of  Joseph.  The  naturalness  of  tone  and 
gesture,  and  the  depth  and  sincerity  of  feeling  displayed  by 
the  young  actors,  made  a  marked  impression  on  the  audience, 
which,  while  hoping  much,  was  not  prepared  for  what  it  wit- 
nessed. With  the  conferring  of  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts 
on  Augustus  J.  Bowie,  Jr.,  and  the  distribution  of  honors  and 
prizes,  the  exercises  of  the  day  fittingly  closed. 

Chief  among  those  who  were  loudest  in  their  praise  of 
the  students,  was  Father  Sopranis  himself  who  saw  springing  up 
upon  our  western  shores,  institutions  that  closely  resembled 
those  with  which  he  was  familiar  in  more  favored  climes;  and 
he  felt  himself  urged  more  and  more  to  labor  strenuously  to 
dissipate  the  clouds  that  were  darkening  St.  Ignatius'  future, 
that  its  growth  might  not  be  dwarfed  by  the  opposition  of 
those  whom  it  revered  as  friends. 

The  success  of  the  college  under  the  vigilant  eye  and  firm 
hand  of  Father  Boudreaux,  only  made  his  loss  the  more  keenly 
felt  when,  on  July  13th,  accompanied  by  Fathers  Alphonsus 
Biglione  and  Aloysius  Guerrieri,  he  departed  by  steamer  for 
New  York;  he,  to  return  to  the  Missouri  Province;  they,  to 
continue  their  journey  to  Italy.  Still  the  pain  of  losing  him 
was  softened  by  a  feeling  of  gratitude  towards  himself  and 
towards  the  Province  which  had  so  kindly  lent  him,  and  which 
could  supply  even  broader  fields  for  his  talents  and  virtues 
than  could  St.  Ignatius  in  1863.  The  parting  was  simple  and 
affectionate  on  both  sides;  and  the  work  of  Father  Boudreaux 
had  to  be  taken  up  by  others.  Father  Caesar  A.  Barchi,  then  in 
the  prime  of  life,  replaced  him  as  prefect  of  studies;  Father 
Anthony  Cichi,  already  well  known  among  his  Jesuit  brethren 
as  a  deep  scientist,  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of  the  natural 
sciences. 

Ten  classes  had  comprised  the  curriculum  in  the  scholastic 
year  just  ended:  logic  and  metaphysics,  rhetoric,  prosody, 
three  grammar,  two  preparatory  and  three  elementary  classes. 
The  addition  of  ethics  this  year  completed  the  course.  Father 
Paul  Raffo  was  appointed  professor.  The  catalogue  of  the 
Turin  Province  assigns  this  duty  to  Father  Joseph  Tadini, 
who  had  been  the  Minister  of  the  college  from  the  beginning 


126  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

of    Father  Congiato's    presidency.      The    college    catalogue, 
however,  assigns  it  to   Father  Raffo,   and  is  evidently  more 
reliable  in  a  matter  of  this  kind.     Still,  one  who  would  wish 
to  reconcile  the  discrepancy  could,  we  think,  easily  do  so  by 
supposing,   as  is   not  at   all   improbable,   that   Father  Tadini 
began  the  year  by  teaching  the  class  of  logic  and  metaphysics 
as  also  that  of  ethics ;  but  that  finding  that  so  much  college  work 
interfered  with  the  domestic  duties  incumbent  on  the  Minister, 
he,  after  a  time,  resigned  the  class  of  ethics  to  Father  Raffo. 
The  catalogue  of  this  same  year  contains  for  the  first  time  a 
name  still  lovingly  remembered  by  many  an  old  student  of 
St.  Ignatius,  not  to  speak  of  Sodalists  and  members  of  the 
congregation,  that  of  Mr.   Patrick  J.   Kelly,   S.   J.     He  was 
the  special  friend  of  childhood,  owing  to  his  own  simple,  kindly 
disposition ;  and  one  of  his  first  works  of  zeal  was  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Holy  Angels  Sodality  for  the  junior  students. 
The  college  catalogues  assign  the  date  of  its  institution  to 
the  year   1864,  and  give  the  month  as  October.     The  month 
seems  to  be  correct;  the  year,  however,  should  be  1863. 

Another  work  of  zeal,  the  visiting  of  the  sick  in  the  hospitals, 
is  catalogued  this  year.  Not  that  we  are  to  suppose  that 
now,  for  the  first  time,  this  work  of  mercy  was  practiced;  but 
that  what  had  been  done  up  to  the  present  by  all  the  Fathers, 
as  circumstances  permitted,  was  henceforth  committed  to  one 
as  a  strict  duty,  the  other  Fathers,  as  before,  doing  what  time 
and  opportunity  allowed. 

The  office  was  entrusted  to  the  charity  of  Father  Raffo, 
and  none  better  could  have,  been  chosen  for  the  work.  A 
secular  priest,  the  Rev.  M.  O'Reilly,  was  employed  this  and 
the  following  year  as  teacher  in  the  college.  He  seems  to 
have  been  popular  with  the  pupils  and  to  have  taught  with 
success.  Messrs.  J.  P.  Grace,  H.  Maginn  and  J.  D.  Boyle, 
instructor  in  calisthenics,  completed  the  faculty. 

On  the  10th  of  September,  the  year  allowed  the  Fathers 
in  which  to  give  over  the  deeds  of  their  property,  if  they  wished 
to  retain  the  parish,  expired.  Out  of  courtesy  and  to  avoid 
any  appearance  of  undue  haste,  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop, 
allowed   two   weeks   to  pass   before   calling   attention   to   the 


RICHARD   McCABE,   FIRST  PUPIL  AUGUSTUS  J.    BOWIE,   FIRST  GRADUATE 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         127 

matter.  The  deeds  had  not  been  forthcoming  and  so  he  con- 
sidered it  his  duty  to  act.  On  the  24th  of  the  month,  therefore, 
he  sent  the  following  communication  to  Father  Congiato, 
president  of  the  college: 

**  "San   Francisco,   Sept.   24th,    1863. 

Very  Reverend  dear  Sir: 

It  is  now  over  twelve  months  since  I  notified  the  Very  Rev. 
B.  Villiger,  Supr.,  S.  J.,  that  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the 
Church,  the  title  of  your  church  here  should  be  vested  in  me, 
and  that,  if  this  was  not  done  within  twelve  months  from  that 
date,  the  10th  of  September,  '62,  I  should  declare  your  church 
here  to  be  no  longer  a  parish  church.  Thus,  to  comply  with  my 
duty,  I  feel  sorry  to  notify  you  that  within  a  few  days  I  will 
make  the  declaration,  as  said  title  has  not  been  conveyed  to  me. 

With  due  regard,  I  remain, 

Yours  in  Christ, 

f  Joseph   S., 
Archbp.  of  San  Francisco. 
Very  Rev.  Nicholas  Congiato,  S.  J." 

Owing  to  the  illness  of  Father  Congiato,  an  answer  was 
returned  on  the  next  day  by  Father  Sopranis : 

**  "St.    Ignatius,    Sept.    25th,    1863. 

Most  Reverend  and  dear  Sir: 

I  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  communication  Your  Grace 
was  pleased  to  make  yesterday  to  Father  Congiato,  who  is  pre- 
vented by  sickness  from  answering  it  himself. 

As  through  the  kindness  of  Your  Grace,  our  St.  Ignatius 
had  been  declared  a  parish  church,  we  cannot  have  any  objec- 
tion that  Your  Grace  should  declare  the  same  church  to  be  no 
longer  a  parish  church. 

This,  be  sure,  Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  will  neither  dimin- 
ish the  esteem  and  the  affection  which  we  entertain  for  Your 
Grace,  nor  relax  our  zeal  in  co-operating  toward  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  your  flock  by  the  ministrations  of  our  own  Institute. 

I  remain  respectfully  and  affectionately,  of  Your  Grace  the 
most  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

Felix   Sopranis,   S.  J.,  Visit. 
Most  Rev.  J.  S.  Alemany,  D.  D., 

Archbp.  of  San  Francisco.'' 


128  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

On  the  2nd  of  October,  therefore,  the  matter  was  brought  to 
a  conclusion  by  a  letter  of  His  Grace  to  Father  Maraschi.  It  was 
the  following: 

**  "San   Francisco,   Oct.  2nd,    1863. 

Reverend  dear  Sir: 

As  the  decrees  of  Baltimore,  confirmed  by  the  Holy  See, 
require  that  the  parochial  churches  be  vested  in  the  Ordinary, 
and  as,  after  my  long  requesting  your  regular  Superiors  to  com- 
ply with  that  regulation  of  the  Church  in  the  case  of  St.  Ignatius, 
they  seem  to  feel  that  they  should  not  do  so,  I  believe  that  duty 
leaves  me  no  alternative  but  to  discontinue  the  character  of  your 
church  as  a  parish,  which  I  do  hereby. 

To  provide  for  the  faithful,  I  have  extended  the  limits  of  St. 
Patrick's  from  Fourth  Street  to  Sixth;  those  of  St.  Joseph's 
from  Seventh  to  Sixth ;  and  those  of  the  Cathedral  from  O'Far- 
rell  to  Turk. 

Your  humble  servant  in  Christ, 

f  Joseph    S., 
Archbp.  of  San  Francisco. 
Rev.  Anthony  Maraschi,  S.  J." 

Two  days  later,  Father  Sopranis  returned  answer : 
**  "St.  Ignatius  College,  Oct.  4th,   1863. 

Most  Reverend  and  dear  Sir: 

Your  Grace's  communication  of  the  2nd  inst.  to  Father 
Maraschi,  and  the  declaration  therein  contained  that  St.  Ignatius 
is  no  longer  a  parish  church,  have  been  received  by  our  Fathers 
here  with  that  humble  submission  and  reverence  which  are  due 
to  ecclesiastical  authority ;  and,  in  accordance  with  this,  at  every 
mass  to-day,  we  have  announced  to  the  people  that  from  this 
day  we  have  no  more  the  power  of  administering  baptism,  of 
performing  the  ceremony  of  marriage,  or  of  giving  the  Viati- 
cum and  Extreme  Unction,  as  our  St.  Ignatius  is  no  longer  a 
parish  church;  notifying  them,  at  the  same  time,  of  the  exten- 
sion of  limits  made  by  Your  Grace  to  the  parishes  of  St.  Patrick, 
St.  Joseph  and  the  Cathedral.  All  this  is  right,  and  neither 
myself  nor  any  one  of  the  other  Fathers  has  any  objection  to 
make  as  to  Your  Grace's  action. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         129 

As,  however,  I  remarked  in  your  communication  some  expres- 
sions from  which  one  might  infer  that  the  Superiors  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus  could  be  guilty  of  a  lack  of  obedience  to  the 
regulations  of  the  Church,  Your  Grace  must  allow  me  to  free 
them  from  even  the  shadow  of  such  offense. 

And  what  I  do  here  with  Your  Grace,  I  shall  equally  do  both 
with  His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Barnabo  (to  whom  I  am  in  duty 
bound  to  give  some  account  of  a  visit  which  I  have  undertaken 
by  commission  of  our  Father  General,  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
same  Cardinal,  and  after  a  strong  recommendation  of  His  Emi- 
nence to  all  the  Bishops  of  the  United  States),  and  with  some 
people  here  who  might  misunderstand  Your  Grace's  declaration 
to  the  detriment  of  the  good  name  of  our  Society. 

This  is,  therefore,  my  statement: 

Our  Reverend  Father  General,  in  not  permitting  us  to  trans- 
fer to  Your  Grace  the  title  of  our  church,  has  only  made  use 
of  the  common  right  which  is  granted  by  the  Holy  See  to  all 
religious  Orders  to  possess  property  of  their  own.  As  our 
churches  are  an  essential  part  of  our  colleges,  which  the  Holy 
See  has  authorized  us  to  possess  as  our  own,  Rev.  Father  Gen- 
eral, I  believe,  wisely  thought  that  the  Holy  See  would  contra- 
dict itself  if,  while  allowing  us,  on  the  one  hand,  to  possess  col- 
leges, it  would,  on  the  other,  oblige  us  to  dispossess  ourselves  of 
the  same  by  investing  the  Bishops  with  the  title  to  our  property. 
He  concluded,  therefore,  that  it  was  not  according  to  the  will  of 
the  Holy  See  that  the  title  which  Your  Grace  required  of  us 
should  be  given. 

And  that  Rev.  Father  General  has  been  right  in  thinking 
so,  is,  it  seems  to  me,  evidently  proved  by  this,  that  the  Holy 
See  allows  those  religious  Orders,  who,  according  to  their  Insti- 
tute, are  empowered  to  have  parishes,  to  possess  the  churches  as 
their  own;  and,  therefore,  though  the  Ordinary  has  the  right 
to  visit  them,  his  visit,  however,  is  limited  by  ecclesiastical  law 
to  what  concerns  the  sacraments  and  parochial  duties,  but  he 
cannot  interfere  with  what  concerns  the  property. 

And  this  is  the  reason,  I  think,  why  the  Holy  See,  approv- 
ing of  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Baltimore,  made,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  5th  decree,  the  observation,  'In  order  that  it  may 
appear  that  by  this  decree  the  Bishops  do  not  wish  to  injure  in 


130 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


any  way  the  Regular  Orders,  it  might  be  added:  "Preserving 
intact  the  privileges  of  the  Regular  Orders,  according  to  what- 
soever has  been  decreed  in  Canon  Law  and  the  Constitutions 
of  the  Roman  Pontiffs."  '  And,  in  accordance  with  such  observa- 
tion, the  words,  'The  privileges  of  Regulars,'  etc.,  have  been 
added  to  the  5th  decree. 

Our  Reverend  Father  General,  therefore,  considering  all 
these  things,  and  regarding  the  5th  decree  of  the  Council  of 
Baltimore  as  not  affecting  us,  has  deemed  it  not  only  to  be  his 
right,  but  also  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  mind  of  the  Holy 
See,  not  to  permit  us  to  place  in  the  hands  of  Your  Grace  the 
title  to  our  church.  And  although,  on  these  principles,  he  could 
perhaps  have  insisted  with  Your  Grace  that  you  should  not 
withdraw  the  parish,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
Holy  See  has,  for  the  time  being,  allowed  us  to  have  parishes, 
a  thing  which  we  could  not  do  merely  in  virtue  of  our  Institute, 
but  which  is  required  to  supply  the  lack  of  a  due  foundation 
for  the  support  of  Ours,  he,  nevertheless,  would  not.  He  has 
preferred  that  we  should  confide  ourselves  to  the  care  of  Divine 
Providence  for  support,  rather  than  make  any  opposition  to 
Your  Grace,  to  whom  our  Society  is  so  much  indebted  for  the 
true  liberality  with  which  you  have  endowed  Santa  Clara 
College. 

I  humbly  beg  Your  Grace  to  accept  these  few  words  in  a 
friendly  spirit,  for  so  I  have  written  them,  not  intending  to  con- 
demn in  any  way  what,  in  your  wisdom,  you  have  thought 
to  be  your  duty ;  but  only  to  show  forth  the  truth  of  things  as  it 
is  in  itself  on  our  side. 

I  remain  respectfully  and  affectionately  yours, 

Felix   Sopranis,  S.  J." 

His  Grace,  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  had  seemed  to 
imply  that  it  was  the  desire  of  the  Holy  Father  that  all  parish 
property  should  be  in  the  name  of  the  Ordinary  of  the  diocese, 
especially  in  view  of  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Baltimore 
approved  by  the  Holy  See.  The  conclusion,  therefore,  seemed 
to  be,  "The  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  in  declining  to  give 
up  the  deed  of  the  property,  are  not  sufficiently  submissive  to 
that  will."     This  inference  the  Fathers  emphatically  denied,  for 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         131 

loyalty  to  the  Supreme  Pontiff  and  his  wishes,  has  ever  been  the 
great  glory  of  their  Order.  Hence  the  answer  of  Father 
Sopranis.  He  sets  forth:  1st.  The  rights  of  religious  Orders, 
according  to  the  will  of  the  Holy  See,  as  expressed  in  Church 
law,  to  hold  the  deeds  to  their  property;  2nd.  The  rights  of 
religious  Orders  who  by  their  Institute  can  administer  parishes, 
to  hold  the  deeds  to  the  same ;  3rd.  The  privileges  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus,  which,  owing  to  the  lack  of  other  means  of  support,  has 
been  empowered  to  do,  by  privilege,  what  other  Orders  do  in 
virtue  of  their  Institute;  4th.  The  fact  that  in  the  very  decree 
on  which  His  Grace  rested  his  opinion,  the  Holy  See  itself  had 
suggested  an  amendment  safeguarding,  in  this  matter,  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  the  Orders  in  question.  His  Grace  might,  there- 
fore, if  he  saw  fit,  take  away  the  parish;  from  the  reasons 
adduced  for  its  taking  away,  the  Fathers  were  at  liberty  to 
dissent.  As  our  work  is  purely  historical,  and  not  controversial, 
we  have  given  both  points  of  view  in  the  letters  mutually 
addressed  on  the  subject.  Years  have  passed  since  it  has  been 
of  any  practical  interest,  and  all  those  who  have  participated  in 
it,  are  united  to-day  in  the  peace  and  happiness  of  eternal  bliss. 
If,  moved  by  the  feelings  of  the  moment,  for  we  are  all  human, 
a  word  less  calmly  weighed  escaped  from  lip  or  pen,  it  was  soon 
forgiven  and  forgotten,  as  ever  happens  when  the  parties  differ- 
ing, as  in  the  present  case,  have  the  sincerest  esteem  for  each 
other.  On  November  3rd,  pained  at  the  failure  of  his  mission, 
Father  Sopranis  set  sail  for  New  York  on  his  way  to  Rome.  As 
companion  of  his  voyage  to  the  Eastern  metropolis,  he  had  the 
famous  Indian  missionary,  Father  de  Smet.  This  Father  had 
arrived  at  St.  Ignatius  two  weeks  previously,  having  left  St. 
Louis,  in  May,  on  a  visit  to  the  Missions  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  Oregon. 

As  the  founder  of  these  Missions,  Father  de  Smet  had,  in 
God's  providence,  been  instrumental  in  founding  that  of 
California,  for  it  was  from  Willamette  that  Fathers  Accolti 
and  Nobili  had  come  to  San  Francisco.  Moreover,  he  was 
the  leader  of  the  little  band  of  Jesuits  who  left  Antwerp, 
Belgium,  on  January  9th,  1844,  of  which  band  Fathers  Accolti 
and  Nobili  were  members.     Doubtless,  as  with  Father  Sopranis 


132 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


he  skirted  the  coast  of  California,  he  went  over  the  details  of 
that  memorable  voyage  which  had  meant  so  much  for  the 
Pacific  Slope;  the  weary  wait  of  twenty-eight  days  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Scheldt  while  expecting  a  favorable  wind;  the  fearful 
tempest  off  the  Patagonian  coast  when  the  ship,  drifting  on 
the  rocks,  threatened  certain  and  speedy  death;  the  calm 
heroism  of  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  when  told  of  the  danger; 
the  long  weary  voyage  from  Callao  to  Fort  Vancouver,  when, 
instead  of  arriving  in  forty  days  as  expected,  the  missionaries 
were  obliged  to  suffer  the  inconveniences  of  eighty-one;  the 
missing  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  with  attendant  perils, 
as  if  the  powers  of  darkness  had  left  nothing  untried  to  ruin 
the  expedition,  foreseeing  in  it  the  fruitful  seed  of  much  good 
to  religion  in  Oregon  and  California. 

But  we  must  go  back  a  little.  The  8th  of  October  had 
called  into  being,  a  successor  to  the  Philodianosian  Society; 
for  successor  we  may  call  it,  even  though  it  drew  its  members 
from  the  junior  instead  of  from  the  senior  students.  Rev. 
Father  Barchi,  the  new  prefect  of  studies,  was  its  moving 
spirit,  and  his  enthusiasm  met  a  ready  response  in  the  hearts 
of  his  young  disciples.  The  society  was  called  the  Philhistorian 
Debating  Society,  since  history  was  to  supply  the  main  themes 
for  discussion.  From  the  minute-book  we  take  the  following 
entry. 

"October  8th,  1863. 

John  Heany,  Alb.  Le  Breton,  Ed.  Le  Breton,  Jas.  O'Sullivan 
and  Jer.  Sullivan,  students  in  grammar  in  St.  Ignatius 
College,  held  to-day  the  first  meeting  of  the  Philhistorian 
Debating  Society.  The  constitution  and  by-laws  were  read 
and  approved.  A.  Le  Breton  was  elected  vice-president; 
George  Harrison,  secretary;  J.  Heany,  treasurer."  "The  object 
of  this  association,"  says  the  college  catalogue  of  1864,  "is  to 
promote  in  its  members  the  knowledge  of  history  and  literature, 
and  to  accustom  them  to  speak  with  ease  and  fluency."  Owing, 
no  doubt,  to  the  smallness  of  the  society's  membership  and 
the  amount  of  reading  called  for  in  the  study  of  historical 
subjects,  on  November  5th  the  resolution  was  passed  to  have 
historical  debates  bi-monthly.     The  meetings  of  the  organiza- 


FATHER  SANCTES  TRAVERSO,   S.  J. 


FATHER  CAESAR  A.  BARCHI,   S.  J. 
FATHER  ANTHONY  CICHI,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         133 

tion  were  regularly  held  and  faithfully  attended,  and  marked 
advance  in  easy,  fluent  speaking  was  soon  noted  in  its  members. 

Although  the  college  buildings  had  been  occupied  since 
the  first  days  of  the  year,  much  fitting  up  had  remained  to 
be  done  and  many  details  to  be  attended  to;  and  though,  to 
the  onlookers,  matters  might  have  seemed  much  the  same  at 
the  beginning  as  at  the  end  of  the  year,  the  college  accounts 
showed  an  outlay  of  some  seventeen  thousand  dollars. 

The  chemical  department,  too,  began  to  assume  more 
definite  shape  and  importance  under  the  able  direction  of 
Father  Anthony  Cichi,  who,  already  eminent  as  a  chemist, 
was  not  easily  satisfied  with  an  ill-equipped  department. 
What  was  worth  doing  at  all  was  worth  doing  well,  was 
his  motto;  and  he  lived  up  to  it,  to  the  great  profit  of  his 
pupils  and  the  advantage  of  those  who  succeeded  him  in  his 
chair.  The  magnificent  photographic  apparatus  purchased  at 
this  time  was  the  fruit  of  his  zeal. 

And  so  the  year  1863  was  numbered  with  its  predecessors, 
its  last  days  signalized  by  the  purchase  of  "houses,  shepherds 
and  even  St.  Joseph"  for  the  crib;  just  as  its  successor  opened 
its  accounts  with  the  interesting  item,  "Camel  and  horses  for 
the  wise  kings."  The  debt  had  increased  nearly  $18,000  during 
the  year. 

1864. 

This  year  was  especially  honorable  to  St.  Ignatius,  for  it 
was  during  it  that  the  Society  of  Jesus  formally  recognized 
the  institution  as  a  complete  college.  It  had  already  conferred 
its  first  classical  degree;  its  numbers  were  swelling  to  remark- 
able proportions;  why  deny  it  its  true  standing?  Each  depart- 
ment strove  to  outdo  the  other  in  excellence,  and  when,  in 
January,  the  library  enriched  itself  with  a  complete  edition 
of  the  works  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  it  felt  that  it  had 
no  need  to  hang  its  head  in  the  presence  of  its  fellows. 

About  the  same  time,  inspired  no  doubt  by  Father  Barchi, 
its  president,  a  remarkable  lover  of  books,  the  Philhistorian 
Debating  Society,  on  the  14th  of  the  month,  passed  a  resolution 
in  favor  of  acquiring  a  library.  Funds  were  naturally  not 
abundant    in    the    nascent    state    of    a    boys'  organization,    and 


134 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


hence  the  members  were  invited  to  present  what  books  they 
could.  Father  Barchi  started  the  collection,  on  February  nth, 
with  the  presentation  of  "Rollin's  Ancient  History,"  in  two 
volumes.  Master  Cornelius  Delahanty,  on  March  ioth,  opened 
the  department  of  American  history  with  the  "Life  of  George 
Washington";  and  Master  E.  Le  Breton,  the  future  founder 
of  the  Home  for  the  Aged  Poor,  even  at  this  early  period 
showed  the  promptings  of  a  generous  heart  by  offering,  on 
March  31st,  "The  History  of  England,"  by  Markham,  and  the 
"History  of  the  Crusades."  On  September  22nd,  the  society 
elected  its  first  honorary  members,  and,  on  October  27th,  in 
the  enthusiasm  of  its  prosperity  and  importance,  it  resolved 
to  edit  a  paper.  The  resolution,  however,  never  came  to  any- 
thing, nor  do  we  find  the  matter  again  adverted  to  in  the 
minutes.  The  project  was,  in  all  probability,  considered  pre- 
mature by  the  college  authorities,  who  knew  how  easily  boys 
rush  into  such  ventures  and  how  easily  they  rush  out;  and 
it  was  consequently  discouraged,  until  time  should  render  it 
clear  that  permanence  and  solid  profit  would  be  the  result. 
In  early  April,  Father  Buchard  gave  a  mission  at  Folsom, 
an  account  of  which  appears  in  the  Monitor  of  the  23rd  of 
that  month;  and  giving,  as  it  does,  an  insight  into  the  disin- 
terestedness of  the  Father's  character,  our  readers  will,  we 
know,  welcome  its  insertion. 

"father    buchard    in    folsom. 

Folsom,  April  18th,  1864. 

Rev.  Father  Buchard,  S.  J.,  of  your  city  has  just  termin- 
ated a  most  successful  mission  of  eleven  days'  duration,  in 
St.  John's  church  in  this  town.  Instructions  were  given  both 
night  and  morning,  and  on  each  occasion  (particularly  at 
night),  the  church  was  crowded  by  persons  of  all  denomina- 
tions. 

Before  his  departure,  a  small  purse  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
odd  dollars  was  made  up  by  the  friends  of  the  Reverend  gentle- 
man, which,  however,  he  declined  receiving,  but  requested  that 
$200  of  it  be  given  to  Father  N.  Gallagher,  our  pastor  (which 
was  done),  to  aid  in  the  building  of  a  schoolhouse  for  the 
Catholic  children  of  Folsom  and  vicinity. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


135 


By  request  of  Father  Buchard,  the  children  belonging  to 
the  congregation,  numbering  upwards  of  one  hundred,  assem- 
bled in  the  church  on  Tuesday  last,  and  were  entertained  by 
addresses  suitable  to  their  age,  by  Rev.  Father  Buchard  and  Rev. 
Father  Beekey  of  Sacramento. 

Rev.  Father  Buchard  returns  to  San  Francisco,  carrying  with 
him  the  blessings  and  regrets  of  all  who  had  the  pleasure  of  mak- 
ing his  acquaintance." 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  October  of  1863,  the  church  had 
been  deprived  of  all  parochial  rights  and  privileges;  imagine, 
therefore,  Father  Congiato's  surprise  when  in  May,  1864,  he 
received  the  subjoined  note : 

**  "San  Francisco,  May  20th,    1864. 

Reverend  dear  Sir: 

I  think  it  would  be  well  to  have  the  holy  Sacrament  of 
Confirmation  administered  in  your  church.  I  am  engaged  until 
the  first  Sunday  of  next  month,  inclusive.  Almost  any  of  the 
four  Sundays  after  that  would  suit  me.  Please  let  me  know,  and 
pray  for 

Yours  in  Christ, 

f  Joseph   S.,  Abp.   of   San   Francisco. 
Very  Rev.  Nicholas  Congiato,  S.  J." 

On  the  26th  of  the  month,  Father  Congiato  wrote  His  Grace 
and  accepted  the  proposal,  desiring,  however,  that  the  ceremony 
be  delayed  as  much  as  possible,  in  order  to  give  time  for  prepara- 
tion. This  we  learn  from  a  note  of  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop, 
dated  May  28th,  in  which  he  says :  "According  to  your  favor  of 
the  26th  inst,  let  us  have  Confirmation  in  your  church  after  the 
last  mass  on  the  19th  of  June  next."  Confirmation  was  accord- 
ingly administered  on  that  date,  much  to  the  edification  of  the 
people  and  the  pleasure  of  His  Grace. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  the  day  before  he  had  sent  his  letter 
to  the  Archbishop,  Father  Congiato  had  written  to  Very  Rev. 
Father  Beckx,  reporting  what  he  had  done,  and  received  in 
return  the  following  reply : 


136  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

** 

« 

"Reverend  Father  in  Christ: 
P.  C. 

I  have  received  Your  Reverence's  last  letter,  dated  May  25th, 
and  am  greatly  consoled  that  the  advices  you  send  me  from  your 
college  are  better.  I  hope  that,  by  some  means,  peace  and  tran- 
quility may  return,  but  it  will  be  necessary  ever  to  use  the 
greatest  prudence  and  to  avoid  whatever  may  directly  hurt  cer- 
tain susceptibilities.  I  think  that  Your  Reverence  has  done  well 
in  accepting  the  request  of  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  conferring  of  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  in  our 
church.  The  manner  of  request  is  plain,  nor  do  I  think  that 
by  it  he  lays  claim  to  any  right.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  always 
better,  on  these  occasions,  to  show  ourselves  disposed  to  do  all 
that  we  can  to  please.  Surely  it  would  have  been  a  matter  of 
little  edification  to  the  faithful,  to  have  refused  the  request  under 
pretext  of  safeguarding  certain  rights  which  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  violated.  Any  such  action  would  be  viewed  here  with  dis- 
approbation. Right,  strictly  enforced  in  every  detail,  is  always, 
both  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other,  odious,  and  does  not  help 
to  conciliate  hearts. 

Recommending  myself  to  the  Holy  Sacrifices  of  Your  Rever- 
ence, I  remain, 

Your  Reverence's  servant  in  Christ, 

Peter  Beckx,   S.  J. 

Rome,  July  16th,  1864. 

To  Rev.  Nicholas  Congiato,  S.  J., 
San  Francisco,  Cal." 

The  exhibitions  this  year  were  much  more  elaborate  than 
they  had  been  hitherto.  They  occupied  the  morning  and  evening 
of  Tuesday,  June  28th,  and  the  evening  of  Friday,  July  1st. 
Tuesday  morning's  entertainment  was  literary  and  scientific.  It 
opened  with  an  introductory  by  Frank  Sullivan;  then  followed 
several  members  of  the  grammar  classes  with  very  creditable 
original  compositions.  Next,  Masters  Henry  Bowie,  Francis 
Leonard  and  Daniel  Callahan  presented  themselves  to  be  exam- 
ined in  the  translation  and  analysis  of  Cicero's  orations,  "Pro 
Archia,"  "Pro  Marcello,"  "In  Catalinam" ;  Horace's  Odes,  Book 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


137 


II;  Homer's  Iliad,  Books  VI  and  VII.  Masters  Alexander 
O'Neil  and  Alfred  Pardow,  while  not  prepared  on  quite  such 
an  amount  of  matter,  were  ready  to  be  tested  on  "Pro  Marcello," 
Book  II  of  Horace's  Odes,  and  Book  II  of  the  Iliad.  As 
all  of  these  young  gentlemen  were  only  in  the  second  class  of 
Latin  and  Greek,  and  were,  at  the  same  time,  students  of  mental 
philosophy  and  the  natural  sciences,  such  public  test  was  a  most 
complimentary  tribute,  as  well  to  their  talent  and  diligence  as 
to  the  thoroughness  of  the  teaching  of  their  Alma  Mater.  A 
dialogue  on  "Dean  Swift  Outwitted"  and  a  lecture  on  "Copper 
Ore  with  Assaying,"  completed  the  entertainment. 

The  evening  exercises  consisted  of  a  prologue  by  Richard 
Barrett;  a  debate  on  the  "Freedom  of  the  Human  Soul,"  par- 
ticipated in  by  Masters  Francis  Leonard,  Henry  Bowie  and 
Alexander  O'Neil;  impromptu  compositions  by  several  students; 
"The  Lawyer  Cheated,"  a  dialogue,  by  Masters  John  Heany, 
Henry  Massey,  Henry  Harrison,  Charles  McFadden;  "The 
Properties  of  Oxygen,"  a  lecture  illustrated  with  experiments, 
by  Francis  Leonard. 

On  Friday,  "Saul,"  a  sacred  tragedy  in  five  acts,  was  admira- 
bly rendered;  the  distribution  of  premiums  followed;  then  a 
valedictory  by  Thomas  Egan ;  and  students  and  professors  might 
indeed  welcome  vacation  and  the  enjoyment  of  hard-earned 
laurels.  Classes  were  announced  to  reopen  for  the  preparatory 
department,  on  July  12th;  and  for  the  grammar  and  higher 
departments,  on  August  22nd. 

The  changes  in  the  college  faculty  this  year  were  compara- 
tively few.  Father  Angelo  Affranchino  replaced  Father  Joseph 
Tadini  as  Minister,  and  Father  Tadini  in  turn  replaced  Father 
Paul  Raffo  as  professor  of  ethics,  leaving  the  latter  Father  free 
to  devote  himself  untrammeled  to  the  works  of  the  sacred  min- 
istry. Father  Lawrence  Palladino  taught  French  and  prefected. 
He  had  arrived  in  California  on  November  8th  of  the  preced- 
ing year,  with  Father  Aloysius  Bosco  who  was  returning  from 
a  trip  to  Mexico  and  the  Central  American  States.  During  the 
past  scholastic  year,  the  highest  class  of  Latin  and  Greek 
had  been  vacant  in  the  college,  for  it  had  proved  difficult  to  retain 
pupils  long  enough  in  the  classical  course  to  enable  them  to 
finish  it.    This  year,  however,  the  vacancy  was  filled;  and,  com- 


1 38  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

plete  in  all  its  classes,  the  college  was  an  honor  to  the  zeal  and 
capacity  of  its  prefect  of  studies,  Father  Csesar  A.  Barchi. 

During  July,  Father  Laufhuber  of  the  Mission  of  New  York, 
arrived  in  San  Francisco  to  give  German  missions  on  the  Coast. 
On  the  24th  of  the  month,  he  opened  a  mission  of  two  weeks  in 
the  little  German  Church  of  St.  Boniface  on  Sutter  Street,  near 
Montgomery.  Here  the  morning  exercises  were  held,  but  accom- 
modations were  too  cramped  for  the  numbers  that  gathered  in 
the  evening.  The  charity  of  the  French  pastor  and  his  congre- 
gation, therefore,  placed  at  the  Father's  disposal  the  Church  of 
Notre  Dame  des  Victoires,  and  here  nightly  the  sermon  was 
given.  Here,  too,  the  closing  of  the  mission  was  held,  with  an 
attendance  far  beyond  expectations,  and  with  an  expression  of 
sincere  piety  most  consoling  to  behold.  On  November  14th, 
the  Father  returned  to  his  Eastern  home,  after  having  given 
missions  in  Colusa,  Virginia  City  and  other  places.  The  Moni- 
tor of  November  19th  thus  adverts  to  his  departure:  "Rev. 
Father  Laufhuber,  S.  J.,  left  this  city  last  Monday  for  New 
York.  His  visit  has  been  productive  of  much  benefit  to  Ger- 
man Catholics  in  California,  among  whom  he  has  labored 
as  a  missionary  priest  for  several  months  past  with  the 
most  satisfactory  results." 

1865. 

On  the  5th  of  January,  Father  Michael  O'Ferrall  of  the 
Irish  Province,  reached  San  Francisco.  His  acquisition  was  a 
great  gain  to  St.  Ignatius,  for  his  nationality  was  a  passport 
to  many  a  heart  in  which  memories  of  an  isle  across  the  waters 
could  never  be  extinguished ;  and  his  sincere,  earnest  zeal,  which 
made  him  a  friend  and  helper  to  all  alike,  rendered  him  a  gen- 
eral favorite.  From  the  very  first  days  of  his  coming,  he  made 
himself  felt  in  the  religious  life  of  San  Francisco. 

Two  months  later,  on  March  5th,  Rev.  Father  Congiato 
was  again  obliged  to  take  upon  his  shoulders  the  general  superior- 
ship  of  the  Californian  Mission,  remaining,  however,  president 
of  St.  Ignatius.  Father  Burchard  Villiger  who  had  been  his 
predecessor  in  office  as  well  as  president  of  Santa  Clara 
College,  was  now  free  to  aid,  with  his  advice  and  experi- 
ence,  the   Fathers   of   San   Francisco;   for,   on   the   same  day, 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


139 


he  had  turned  over  the  presidency  of  Santa  Clara  College 
to  Father  Aloysius  Masnata  and  had  come  to  St.  Ignatius  as 
prefect  of  the  church.  To  a  man  of  the  deep  piety  of  Father 
Villiger,  nothing  would  have  been  more  acceptable  than  to  have 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  retirement,  having  for  his 
one  purpose  in  life  the  beautifying  of  the  house  of  God;  but  his 
talent  for  administration  was  too  marked  to  permit  of  this,  and, 
shortly  after,  we  find  him  vice-president  of  the  college. 

This  promotion  was  but  the  prelude  to  another,  and  on 
July  2nd  he  became  president  of  St.  Ignatius.  The  elevation 
of  Father  Masnata  had  necessitated  the  removal  of  Father 
Paul  Raffo  to  Santa  Clara;  for  while  Father  Joseph  Cataldo 
assumed  charge  of  the  class  of  philosophy  which  Father 
Masnata  had  taught,  his  health  would  not  permit  him  to  take 
upon  himself,  in  addition,  the  teaching  of  the  classics  in  which 
Father  Masnata  excelled.  To  Father  Raffo,  therefore,  was 
assigned  this  duty. 

But  events  such  as  the  change  of  presidents  in  a  college 
or  the  succession  of  Superiors  in  the  general  administration 
of  the  Mission,  events  which  caused  a  ripple  of  excitement  on 
the  comparatively  calm  surface  of  college  life,  were  lost  sight 
of  in  the  fearful  calamity  that  befell  the  nation,  in  April,  when 
President  Lincoln  was  slain  by  the  bullet  of  an  assassin. 

Ready  as  bigots  ever  are  to  take  advantage  of  whatever 
may  be  distorted  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
they  were  prompt  in  San  Francisco,  as  elsewhere,  to  seek  to 
invest  the  dastardly  deed  with  a  religious  significance  which 
it  did  not  bear.  On  April  15th,  the  day  of  the  President's 
death,  a  mob  attacked  and  destroyed  the  Monitor  office, 
and  ugly  mutterings  were  heard  in  reference  to  Catholic  churches 
and  institutions.  Fortunately  wiser  counsels  prevailed  and  no 
attempt  was  made  at  molestation,  but  the  Superiors  of  St. 
Ignatius  were  to  be  pardoned  if  they  spent  many  an  anxious 
hour,  having,  in  other  lands  and  days,  experienced  the  fickle 
temper  of  the  mob.  In  harmony  with  the  sad  event  of  the 
President's  death,  the  church  and  residence  were  suitably 
draped  in  mourning,  and  faculty  and  students  marched  in  the 
public  funeral  procession  which  was  held  on  April    19th. 


i4o  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

The  exhibition  at  the  end  of  the  year  was  even  more  elab- 
orate than  that  which  had  crowned  the  labors  of  its  prede- 
cessor. Like  the  former,  it  occupied  two  days,  taking  up  the 
morning  and  evening  of  June  28th,  and  the  evening  of  June 
30th.  Six  of  Cicero's  orations;  the  Germania  of  Tacitus; 
four  books  of  the  Odes  of  Horace;  the  1st,  5th  and  9th  Satires 
and  the  Ars  Poetica  of  the  same  author,  were  offered  by  two 
of  the  graduates  as  subject  matter  for  public  examination. 
In  Greek,  the  specimen  included  twelve  books  of  the  Iliad; 
and  the  1st  Philippic  and  three  Olynthiacs  of  Demosthenes. 
Essays  and  poems,  a  farce  and  a  tragedy,  did  ample  justice  to 
the  training  imparted  by  the  Fathers.  The  Santa  Clara  College 
Band  kindly  furnished  the  music.  Three  graduates  this  year 
received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts — Francis  Leonard, 
Alexander  O'Neil  and  Henry  Bowie,  the  last  named  having 
entered  the  college  as  early  as  September  1st,  1856. 

Early  in  July,  Father  Palladino  was  sent  to  Santa  Clara 
to  replace  Father  Aloysius  Vercruysse  as  Minister;  and,  on 
August  17th,  Father  Joseph  Bertolio  became  Minister  in  St. 
Ignatius  in  place  of  Father  Angelo  Affranchino.  Good  Father 
Bertolio  had  long  sighed  for  California  for  which,  in  its  pioneer 
days,  as  we  have  seen,  he  had  been  destined.  He  had  arrived 
in  San  Francisco  in  the  preceding  May  from  Jamaica,  but 
had  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  intervening  time  in  Santa 
Clara.  He  was  not,  however,  the  only  new  addition  to  the 
community.  There  were  Messrs.  Joseph  Neri,  Joseph  Isola- 
bella,  and  Brother  John  Mahoney,  S.  J.,  and  later  Father 
Paul  Raffo.  Mr.  Patrick  Kelly,  S.  J.,  who  for  three  years 
had  labored  most  earnestly  and  successfully,  especially  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  junior  students,  was  transferred  to 
equally  important  work  in  Santa  Clara  College. 

The  beautiful  devotion  of  the  Bona  Mors  or  Happy  Death, 
appears  in  the  domestic  journal  of  the  college  for  the  first 
time  on  August  27th.  Father  Buchard  is  named  as  its  director, 
and,  when  at  home,  gave  it  what  care  and  attention  he  could; 
but  he  was  often  away  on  his  missionary  excursions,  and  on 
these  occasions  somebody  else  had  to  replace  him.  A  substitute 
was  easily  found  in  Reverend  Father  Villiger,  who  delighted 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         141 

to  preside  at  the  devotion,  and  whose  clear,  practical  instruc- 
tions were  always  listened  to  with  eagerness  and  profit.  His 
style  was  simple  and  direct,  replete  with  good  sense  and  flowing 
from  a  heart  warmed  with  divine  love,  so  that  his  hearers  could 
not  but  perceive  the  spirit  with  which  he  spoke. 

On  Sunday,  October  8th,  and  Monday,  October  9th,  severe 
earthquakes  shook  the  city;  in  fact,  a  series  of  similar  disturb- 
ances lasted  up  to  the  15th.  Father  Bertolio's  impressions 
of  them  were  far  from  agreeable  as  we  may  gather  from  the 
expression  in  his  diary,  "Dei  misericordia  quod  non  sumus 
consumpti,"  "It  is  due  to  God's  mercy  that  we  are  not  all 
swallowed  up."  These  earthquakes  had,  at  least,  the  practical 
effect  of  laying  stress  upon  the  need  that  existed  of  an  easier 
and  freer  egress  from  the  church  in  case  of  danger;  so 
a  door  was  broken  in  the  eastern  wall  of  the  edifice,  and  a 
stairway  built  into  the  Father's  garden  from  the  little  veranda 
which  skirted  the  church  on  the  outside,  and  connected  resi- 
dence and  sacristy.  "Salus  populi,"  quaintly  remarks  Father 
Bertolio,  "suprema  lex."  "The  safety  of  the  people  is  the 
supreme  law."  Like  the  rest  of  us,  assuredly,  he  felt  that  he 
belonged  to  the  people  when  earthquakes  were  in  question. 

On  the  1 2th  of  November,  a  notable  band  of  Jesuits  sought 
hospitality  of  St.  Ignatius.  It  was  made  up  of  Fathers  Charles 
Pollano,  Jerome  D'Aste,  Pascal  Tosi,  Mr.  Bartholomew  Calzia, 
Brothers  John  Jordan  Ristori,  Paschal  Megazzini,  Charles  Rey, 
James  Botalla  and  Anthony  Anesini,  all  of  whom  had  just 
arrived  from  Europe.  Unfortunately  only  Brother  Megazzini 
could,  for  the  moment,  be  spared  for  St.  Ignatius;  the  others, 
on  the  14th,  departed  for  Santa  Clara.  But  not  only  to  members 
of  the  Jesuit  Order  was  St.  Ignatius  happy  to  open  its  doors; 
its  hospitality  was  equally  shared  by  its  friends  in  the  epis- 
copacy and  by  members  of  other  religious  Orders;  hence 
Bishops  O'Connell,  Amat  and  Demers  were  not  unfrequent 
visitors;  hence  also  the  habit  of  the  Passionist,  the  Oblate 
and  the  Franciscan  seen  within  its  walls,  told  of  the  cordial 
relations  existing  between  St.  Ignatius  and  them. 

A  city  Catholic  directory  published  in  the  Monitor,  Decem- 
ber 2nd,  1865,  gives  us  the  order  of  divine  services  in  the  church : 


1 42  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

"ST.     IGNATIUS     COLLEGIATE     CHURCH. 

On  Sundays,  masses  every  three-quarters  of  an  hour  from 
5  to  II  a.  m.,  vespers  at  7  p.  m.  in  winter,  and  at  7:30  p.  m. 
in  summer.  On  week  days,  masses  as  on  Sundays,  from 
5  to  8  a.  u" 

On  the  3rd,  the  Feast  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  Apostle  of  the 
Indies,  His  Grace,  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  administered 
the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  in  the  church  after  the  last  mass. 
We  have  a  letter  of  his  of  an  earlier  date  relating  to  the  sub- 
ject. His  pious  mother  had  lately  gone  to  her  eternal  rest,  and 
Father  Congiato  had  expressed  to  him  the  sympathy  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  community  and  had  promised  their  prayers.  His 
Grace  sent  in  return  the  following  reply : 

**  "San  Francisco,  Oct.   18th,   1865. 

Very  Reverend  dear  Sir: 

I  am  very  thankful  to  you  and  to  all  your  Fathers  and 
Brothers  for  the  charity  extended  to  my  good  mother's  soul. 
I  feel  her  death  very  much,  but  God's  will  be  done. 

I  am  almost  certain  that  I  did  not  receive  any  letter  from 
you  on  the  subject  of  Confirmation  till  I  got  yours  of  the  13th 
inst,  and,  as  it  will  not  be  possible  to  give  Confirmation  at 
St.  Ignatius  till  the  end  of  next  month,  I  will  say  let  us  fix  the 
first  Sunday  of  Advent.    So,  unless  that  Sunday  be  inconvenient, 

I  shall  call  at  that  time. 

Yours  in  Christ, 

t  Joseph    S.,    Abp.    S.    F. 
Very  Rev.  N.  Congiato,  S.  J.,  Supr." 

One  hundred  and  one  persons,  nearly  half  of  them  adults  and 
many  of  them  converts,  presented  themselves  for  the  reception 
of  the  Sacrament.  His  Grace  was  visibly  impressed,  as  were  all 
who  had  the  pleasure  of  assisting  at  the  function. 

The  number  of  pupils  in  the  college  this  year  suffered  a  nota- 
ble diminution,  owing  principally  to  two  causes.  The  first  was 
the  suppression  of  the  elementary  classes;  the  second,  the  intro- 
duction of  a  purely  classical  course.  At  the  end  of  August, 
there  were  but  188  pupils.  In  Rhetoric  there  were  none;  in 
Humanities,  9;  in  1st  Grammar,  none;  in  2nd  Grammar,  15;  in 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


143 


3rd  Grammar,  Div.  A,  29;  in  3rd  Grammar,  Div.  B,  34;  in  1st 
Preparatory,  28;  in  2nd  Preparatory,  75.  The  San  Francisco 
of  that  day  was  certainly  not  prepared  for  classical  standards. 
The  numbers  indeed  increased  during  the  course  of  the  year, 
and  the  annual  catalogue  contains  236  names;  but  this  attend- 
ance was  only  half  of  that  of  the  preceding  year,  and  was,  for 
the  time  being,  a  serious  setback  to  the  college.  It  was  during 
this  year  that  the  Sanctuary  Society,  which  had  already  existed 
for  some  time,  received  a  definite  organization  and  was  placed 
under  the  protection  of  St.  Tharsicius.  The  college  catalogues 
mention  the  society  as  existing  in  1855,  but  such  assertion  is 
inexact.  This  year,  1865,  is  also  memorable  for  having  given 
to  the  Society  of  Jesus  the  first  vocation  of  a  pupil  of  St.  Igna- 
tius. It  was  on  the  8th  of  December,  the  Feast  of  our  Immacu- 
late Mother,  that  Master  James  M.  O' Sullivan  consecrated  his 
life  to  God,  thus  worthily  leading  in  a  long  line  of  vocations 
reaching  to  the  present.  Master  O'Sullivan,  transformed  by 
years  and  study  into  the  present  Father  James  O'Sullivan  of 
Santa  Clara  College,  has  been,  for  many  years,  a  useful  member 
of  the  Jesuit  Order  in  California. 

1866. 

On  January  10th,  Father  Joseph  Bertolio  having  been  recalled 
to  Jamaica,  left  the  earthquakes  of  San  Francisco  behind  and 
set  his  face  seaward.  Father  Paul  Raffb  came  up  from  Santa 
Clara  to  take  his  place  as  Minister. 

As  early  as  1861,  Father  Congiato  had  applied  for  a  diploma 
empowering  him  to  erect  in  St.  Ignatius  the  Confraternity  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  of  Mary,  and,  in  accordance  with  his  request, 
the  desired  document  signed  on  September  3rd  of  that  year,  had 
been  sent  him.  It  was  thought  well,  however,  in  1863,  to  replace 
this  organization  by  the  Sodality  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus; 
and  the  change  was  accordingly  made.  Suitable  devotions  were 
practiced,  members  were  enrolled,  and  much  spiritual  fruit 
was  the  result;  but,  so  far  as  records  go,  we  do  not  find  the 
public  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  on  the  First  Friday  before 
the  6th  of  April  of  this  present  year,  1866. 

We  wish  that  we  were  able  to  note  equal  progress  in  every- 
thing else  that  regarded  church  and  college,  but  we  regret  that 


144  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

we  cannot.  The  Philhistorian  Society  had  fallen  from  its  first 
fervor,  and  carelessness  had  usurped  the  place  of  former  dili- 
gence. No  doubt  the  scarcity  of  students  eligible  to  member- 
ship told  hard  upon  it,  and  such  scarcity  was  inseparable  from 
smallness  of  numbers  in  the  advanced  classes  of  the  college. 
Father  Barchi  was  not  the  man  to  trifle.  Either  the  society  was 
capable  of  attaining  its  end  in  the  furtherance  of  the  literary 
welfare  of  its  members,  or  it  was  not.  If  it  was,  then  let  it 
do  so;  if  not,  then  let  it  cease  to  be.  On  April  12th,  he  laid 
the  matter  clearly  before  the  members,  and  as  clearly  gave  them 
the  option  of  taking  more  interest  in  the  debates  or  of  adjourning 
sine  die.  The  motion  to  adjourn  indefinitely  was  lost,  and  the 
penitent  backsliders  promised  that  there  would  be  no  reason 
for  complaint  in  the  future. 

In  March,  Father  Affranchino  rejoined  the  faculty,  and  in 
the  following  vacation  came  Fathers  Florence  Sullivan  and 
Ignatius  Prelate  Fathers  Anthony  Cichi,  Joseph  Neri  and 
Joseph  Tadini  were,  in  the  early  autumn,  transferred  to  Santa 
Clara. 

The  exhibition  this  year  was  restricted  to  one  night,  Wednes- 
day, June  27th;  and,  while  creditable  and  entertaining,  lacked 
the  brilliancy  of  its  two  predecessors.  Father  Villiger,  who  had 
gone  to  attend  the  commencement  exercises  at  Santa  Clara,  was 
not  present  at  it,  and  Father  Congiato  presided  in  his  place. 
Only  one-half  of  the  basement  of  the  church  was  utilized  as 
a  hall,  and  about  500  people  were  present.  Occupied  at  home, 
the  Santa  Clara  College  Band  was  unable  to  attend,  and  on  the 
programme  printed  in  the  catalogue,  no  music  is  mentioned. 
That  there  was  music,  however,  we  learn  from  the  diary  of 
Father  Prelato,  in  which  the  cost  of  the  music  is  expressly  noted. 

A  year  had  now  passed  since  the  introduction  of  the  purely 
classical  course,  and  experience  had  shown  that,  no  matter  how 
excellent  and  desirable  in  itself  such  a  course  might  be,  San  Fran- 
cisco was  not  yet  prepared  for  it.  A  change  was  consequently 
determined  on  and  a  commercial  course  was  added. 

With  the  close  of  September,  the  beautiful  marble  statue 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  representing  the  Mother  with  the  Child 
Jesus  in  her  arms,  arrived  from  Rome;  and,  on  the  14th  of 
October,  was  placed  with  fitting  ceremonies  in  the  niche  pre- 


P.LESSED  VIRGIN'S  ALTAR 
MAIN  ALTAR 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         145 

pared  for  it  over  the  Virgin's  altar.  Father  Villiger  preached 
on  the  occasion  in  his  usual  happy  strain,  and  the  crowded 
church  that  listened  with  rapt  attention  to  his  words  had  no 
premonition  that  San  Francisco  was  soon  to  lose  him.  A 
solemn  act  of  consecration  to  Mary  was  read;  and  benediction 
with  the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  given. 

But  though  the  fact  was  not  known,  the  Superiors  of  the 
Maryland  Province,  to  which  Father  Villiger  belonged,  had 
determined  on  his  recall;  for  they  had  lent  his  services  for  a 
time  only,  and  could  not  spare  him  longer.  On  the  13th  of 
November,  he  paid  a  last  visit  to  Santa  Clara  where  he  had 
spent  so  many  useful  and  happy  days.  He  looked  for  the  last 
time  on  the  stately  buildings  which  under  his  hand  had  replaced 
the  long  tumble-down  line  of  adobe  rooms  that  had  shocked 
his  eye  at  his  first  coming,  and  pressing  each  of  the  community 
tenderly  to  his  heart,  with  a  fervent  prayer  for  the  college's 
continued  prosperity,  he  returned  to  San  Francisco.  On  the 
following  Saturday,  he  gave  a  final  instruction  to  the  students 
in  their  chapel,  mingling  words  of  fatherly  advice  with  praise 
and  encouragement,  and  every  heart  was  responsive  to  his 
words  and  treasured  them  up,  for  all  loved  him.  This  last 
instruction  over,  a  delegation  consisting  of  two  pupils  from 
each  class  waited  upon  him,  to  express  the  gratitude  that  they 
felt  for  the  deep  interest  which  he  had  shown  in  them,  and 
to  wish  him  a  safe  and  happy  voyage.  They  asked  his  Fatherly 
blessing  once  more,  and  left  him  with  memories  not  easily 
effaced.  On  Monday,  November  19th,  Father  Villiger  took 
steamship  for  Panama,  many  of  the  students  accompanying 
him  to  the  wharf  to  say  a  last  good-bye.  Of  the  earlier 
Jesuit  Superiors  in  California,  Father  Villiger  was  undoubtedly 
the  most  progressive;  not  that  the  others  were  lacking  in  pro- 
gressiveness,  but  that  he  stood  forth  prominently  even  in  com- 
parison with  them.  His  mind  and  heart  were  essentially  large. 
He  could  not  plan  anything  small,  for  we  doubt  whether  he 
knew  the  meaning  of  the  word.  He  was  bold  but  not  rash; 
quiet  and  gentle  in  manner;  but  beneath  that  calmness  was 
the  firmness  of  adamant.  His  mind  was  clear  and  his  judg- 
ment sound.    He  measured  by  the  possibilities  and  probabilities 


146  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

of  the  future,  not  by  the  limitations  of  the  present;  hence  what 
he  did,  was  admittedly  well  done.  In  his  presence  one  felt 
the  superior  man,  the  man  of  mind  and  the  man  of  God. 
Excellent  gifts  of  nature  had  been  refined  by  rarer  gifts  of 
grace,  contributing  harmoniously  to  make  Father  Villiger  a 
man  among  men.  Superiorship  did  not  spoil  him,  for  he  was 
above  the  petty  pride  of  power,  and  the  cares  and  worries  of 
government  never  robbed  him  of  a  Father's  heart.  Father 
Congiato  took  upon  himself  the  management  of  the  college 
until  such  time  as  a  new  president  should  be  appointed. 

Carried  away,  as  we  have  been,  by  the  departure  of  Father 
Villiger,  we  have  forgotten  to  note  that  it  was  the  generosity 
of  the  Altar  Society  that  enabled  the  Fathers  to  purchase  the 
Blessed  Virgin's  statue  of  which  we  have  spoken.  Nor  must 
we  fail  to  record  a  similar  act  of  generosity  on  the  part  of 
the  Ladies'  Sodality  which,  about  the  same  time,  voted  five 
hundred  dollars  of  its  funds  towards  the  purchase  of  an  organ 
for  the  church. 

In  December,  Father  Michael  Accolti  once  more  became 
a  member  of  the  community  of  St.  Ignatius  to  labor  zealously 
in  it  until  called  away  by  death.  In  autumn,  while  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Santa  Clara,  he  had  been  selected  by  Bishop 
Amat  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles  to  accompany  him  to 
the  second  Council  of  Baltimore  as  theologian.  Courtesy 
forbade  refusal.  On  the  18th  of  August,  therefore,  in  company 
with  Archbishop  Alemany,  Bishops  Amat  and  O'Connell,  and 
Fathers  Villarasa  and  Hodges,  their  theologians,  Father 
Accolti  had  set  sail  from  San  Francisco.  An  uneventful 
voyage  brought  them  to  New  York  towards  the  end  of 
September,  for  we  know  that  on  the  28th  of  the  month,  His 
Grace,  the  Archbishop,  arrived  in  Washington.  The  return 
trip  to  California  was  begun  on  November  1st,  Father  Accolti 
sailing  from  New  York  with  Archbishop  Alemany  and  Bishop 
O'Connell,  Fathers  Aloysius  Brunengo  and  Joseph  Bixio, 
Brother  Ferdinand  Gianfranceschi,  S.  J.,  and  the  friend  of 
olden  days,  Father  Anthony  Langlois.  November  24th  found 
the  party  safe  in  San  Francisco,  and  after  a  few  weeks  spent 
in  Santa  Clara,  arranging  his  affairs  and  those  of  the  parish  that 
he  had  governed,  the  good  Father  was  ready  for  the  wider 
field  of  usefulness  that  awaited  him  in  St.  Ignatius. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         147 

1867. 

Several  years  had  now  intervened  since  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War,  and  the  question  of  the  conversion  of  the  negroes 
occupied  more  and  more  the  attention  of  people  throughout 
the  Union.  Probably,  too,  the  numbers  of  the  colored  race 
had  begun  to  increase  in  San  Francisco,  so  that  the  Fathers 
thought  the  time  opportune  to  offer  their  services  to  His  Grace, 
Archbishop  Alemany,  in  order  that,  should  he  think  well  to 
accept  such  assistance,  they  might  endeavor  to  do  something  for 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  colored  people  among  us.  His  Grace 
seems,  at  the  time,  to  have  had  other  plans,  for  in  reply  to  Father 
Congiato's  offer  he  sent  the  following  note: 

**  "San   Francisco,  Jan.    10th,    1867. 

Very  Reverend  dear  Sir: 

After  much  reflection,  I  prefer  to  wait  before  availing  myself 
of  your  charitable  offer  to  take  charge  of  the  colored  people 
of  the  city.  I  would  be  thankful  if  you  would  call  my  attention 
to  it  after  a  few  months.  Of  course  it  is  understood  that  their 
church,  no  matter  where  it  might  be,  would  be  vested  in  the 
Ordinary. 

Still  with  the  delay  or  after  it,  something  may  be  deemed 
necessary. 

With  sincere  thanks,  I  remain, 

Yours  in  Christ, 
f  Joseph   S.,   Abp.   of  San  Francisco. 
Very  Rev.   Nicholas  Congiato,  S.  J.,  Supr." 

We  find  no  more  correspondence  on  the  subject  and  the 
matter  evidently  was  dropped. 

In  February,  the  elementary  classes  were  again  opened, 
and,  by  the  25th  of  the  month,  Mr.  Egan  had  thirty  pupils  in 
his  class.  From  this  time  the  number  of  students  showed  a 
steady  increase,  the  growth  of  the  present  year  being 
seventy-five. 

On  March  6th,  Father  John  Baptist  Ponte  arrived  in  San 
Francisco  as  Visitor  of  the  Californian  Mission.  He  was  no 
stranger  to  the  condition  of  affairs  that  obtained  here,  for,  as 
Provincial  of  the  Turin  Province,  he  had  guided  and  consoled 
the  Fathers  in  their  difficulties  from  1859  to  1865.     With  him 


148  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

came  Father  Joseph  Bandini  and  Brother  Francis  Galanti  des- 
tined for  California;  and  Father  Henry  Imoda  and  Brothers 
Aloysius  Casiraga  and  Roch  Terragno,  S.  J.,  destined  for  the 
Missions  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  "Man  proposes,"  says  the 
old  proverb,  "God  disposes."  It  was  indeed  so  in  the  present 
case.  Father  Bandini  and  Brother  Terragno  were  sent  to  the 
mountains;  the  others  were  assigned  to  duty  in  California. 

On  St.  Joseph's  Day,  the  19th  of  the  month,  Father  Richard 
Whyte  came  up  from  Santa  Clara  to  take  charge  of  a  class  in 
St.  Ignatius.  He  was  an  earnest,  efficient  teacher  and  a  good 
English  scholar,  qualities  that  made  him  an  able  helper  where- 
ever  duty  placed  him.  Another  change  in  the  personnel  of  the 
community  took  place  on  the  22nd  of  April,  when  Father  Paul 
Raffo  yielded  his  place  as  Minister  to  Father  Henry  Imoda. 
The  removal  was  a  promotion  for  Father  Raffo,  whose  prudence 
and  correctness  of  judgment  had  commended  him  as  confidential 
assistant  to  Father  Ponte. 

Though,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Jesuits  of  St.  Ignatius  and 
their  brethren  in  California  had  failed  to  obtain  the  care  of  the 
colored  people  in  San  Francisco,  they  were  fortunate  in  obtain- 
ing another  work  of  zeal  which,  without  their  aid,  could  not, 
for  many  years,  have  been  conveniently  attended  to  by  others. 
This  work  was  the  spiritual  care  of  the  prisoners  in  San  Quentin. 
We  know,  indeed,  that  as  early  as  August,  i860,  Rev.  Father 
Joseph  Gallagher,  a  zealous  secular  priest,  paid  visits  to  the 
institution;  but  the  secular  clergy  were  taxed  to  the  utmost  by 
the  increasing  needs  of  growing  parishes,  and,  with  the  best  of 
will,  were  forced  to  restrict  their  labors  to  them.  There  was  no 
salary  or  other  emolument  connected  with  the  charge  during  the 
many  years  that  the  Fathers  bore  it,  but  there  was  a  field  for 
sincere  zeal,  and  this  was  enough. 

There  was  no  public  exhibition  at  the  end  of  the  scholastic 
year,  premiums,  however,  were  given  as  usual.  The  Monitor 
of  June  29th  makes  mention  of  the  matter : 

"COLLEGE    OF    ST.    IGNATIUS,     SAN     FRANCISCO. 

The  school  year  of  this  institution  ended  on  Tuesday,  the 
25th  inst.,  with  the  distribution  of  prizes  awarded  after  the  usual 
examinations,  which  latter  were  held  during  the  last  week.     As 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         149 

the  great  hall  of  the  college  is  now  used  as  a  church,  and  as  it 
is  found  injurious  to  make  so  often  the  temporary  alterations 
necessary  for  providing  an  apartment  sufficiently  large  to  accom- 
modate their  friends,  the  Fathers  were  reluctantly  obliged  to 
forego  the  usual  public  conclusion,  and  to  bestow  the  rewards  of 
literary  merits  on  the  recipients  in  the  presence  of  their  com- 
panions and  teachers  only. 

We  subjoin  the  questions  proposed  to  the  class  of  Humanities 
(there  being  no  Rhetoric  this  year)  at  the  examination,  which 
will  show  that  idleness  is  not  the  order  of  the  day  at  St.  Ignatius, 
as  we  are  glad  to  learn  that  a  very  large  percentage  of  them  was 
answered  correctly  and  fully." 

These  questions  covered  geometry;  algebra;  astronomy; 
Greek,  the  1st  Philippic  of  Demosthenes  and  the  6th  Book 
of  the  Iliad;  Latin,  the  6th  Book  of  the  Aeneid,  the  four  ora- 
tions against  Cataline,  and  the  1st  chapter  of  Tacitus. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  removal  of  college  furniture  and 
partitions  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  hall  suitable  for  the 
closing  exercises,  was  a  source  of  much  annoyance  and  expense 
which  would  gladly  be  avoided,  if  possible.  But  the  question 
was,  Could  the  college  avoid  the  trouble  without  detriment  to 
itself?  The  authorities  of  the  institution  this  year  seemed  to 
think  that  it  could,  or  that,  at  least,  it  would  be  well  to  make 
the  trial.  From  the  fact,  however,  that  the  experiment  was  never 
repeated,  and  that  yearly  thereafter,  as  long  as  necessary,  the 
required  alterations  were  made  despite  trouble  and  expense,  we 
may  reasonably  conclude  that  the  authors  of  the  change  did  not 
consider  it  a  success.  The  exercises  had  been  of  the  most 
informal  character.  They  were  held  in  the  old  wooden  church 
which  had  been  converted  into  a  Sodality  Chapel.  Into  this 
the  students  were  gathered  on  the  morning  of  June  25th  and 
ranged  standing  around  the  room.  The  premiums  were  then 
distributed  and  the  assemblage  was  dismissed.  Short  were  the 
proceedings,  indeed;  sweet,  we  would  not  dare  to  say. 

In  the  faculty  changes,  we  note  Father  Joseph  Tadini  back 
in  his  chair  of  philosophy.  In  August,  Father  Prelato  is  sta- 
tioned at  Santa  Clara;  and  in  October,  Fathers  Piccardo  and 
Messea  exchange  places,  the  former  going  to  San  Jose  and  the 


150  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

latter  coming  to  San  Francisco.     On  the   15th  of  the  month, 
Father  Messea  became  Minister  of  St.  Ignatius. 

On  September  8th,  the  first  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was 
conferred  by  the  college.  Its  recipient  was  Alexander  A. 
O'Neil.  The  conditions  required  for  the  degree  are  clearly  con- 
tained in  the  catalogue.  "The  degree  of  A.  M.  is  given  to 
the  alumni  who  have  devoted  two  years  to  some  literary 
pursuit  after  having  received  the  degree  of  A.  B."  The  orig- 
inal idea,  therefore,  of  the  A.  M.  was  not  the  idea  of  a  degree 
belonging  directly  to  the  college  curriculum,  but  of  a  degree  con- 
ferred on  students  who,  having  graduated  as  Bachelors  of  Arts, 
took  up  some  line  of  literary  or  scientific  work  during  the  period 
of  two  years.  Mr.  O'Neil  had  taken  his  A.  B.  in  1865;  he  had 
since  devoted  himself  successfully  to  the  study  of  medicine,  and 
hence  was  entitled  to  this  mark  of  consideration  on  the  part  of 
Alma  Mater. 

As  winter  drew  near,  Father  Congiato's  health,  ever  so  frail 
and  changeful,  again  began  to  give  way,  and,  on  November 
21st,  he  was  obliged  to  fly  from  the  cares  of  office  and  seek  the 
needed  rest  in  Santa  Clara.  On  December  9th,  he  was  back  in 
San  Francisco,  but  was  again  obliged  to  depart  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  the  improvement  begun  needing  yet  more  time  to  make 
it  solid.  By  the  19th  of  the  month,  his  condition  was  consid- 
ered satisfactory  and  he  returned  to  St.  Ignatius.  Perhaps  the 
knowledge  that  he  would  soon  be  relieved  of  the  Superiorship 
of  the  Calif ornian  Mission  hastened  his  recovery,  for,  on  the  6th 
of  January,  1868,  Father  Ponte,  as  Visitor,  took  upon  himself 
the  duties  connected  with  the  office,  retaining,  however,  Father 
Congiato  as  president  of  St.  Ignatius.  His  burden  thus  lightened, 
it  was  hoped  that,  with  time  and  due  care,  Father  Congiato's 
physical  condition  would  show  improvement. 

In  the  college  catalogue  for  the  scholastic  year  1867-' '68,  we 
find  for  the  first  time  the  name  of  one  who  was  destined 
to  be,  in  after  years,  California's  brightest  ornament,  Stephen 
M.  White.  With  his  brother  Edward  he  entered  the  second 
class  of  grammar  during  the  year,  and  achieved  distinction  in 
it,  being  among  the  foremost  in  conduct  and  application. 

On  April  15th,  1868,  both  brothers  were  elected  members  of 
the  Philhistorian  Debating  Society,  though,  for  some  reason  or 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         151 

other,  they  did  not  take  their  seat  among  the  members  until  Octo- 
ber 8th.  Perhaps  the  near  approach  of  the  end  of  the  session, 
and  the  consequent  suspension  of  the  society's  meetings  caused 
them  to  await  the  opening  of  the  succeeding  term.  Here  then, 
it  was,  that  Stephen  M.  White  began  to  cultivate  and  develop 
those  powers  of  debate  which,  in  after  years,  made  him  such  a 
power  in  the  politics  of  State  and  nation;  here,  too,  it  was,  that 
he  received  his  instruction  in  the  laws  of  parliamentary  usage, 
of  which  he  became  so  perfect  a  master.  He  completed  his  lit- 
erary course  in  St.  Ignatius,  finishing  the  class  of  Rhetoric  in 
1870,  and  enjoying  the  distinction  of  being  elected  vice-president 
of  the  Debating  Society.  His  parents  thought  well  to  send  him 
to  Santa  Clara  College  for  a  year,  during  which  he  devoted  him- 
self to  the  study  of  mental  and  moral  philosophy,  mathematics 
and  the  natural  sciences,  receiving  at  its  completion  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Science. 

On  November  26th,  the  Monitor  kindly  printed  the  follow- 
ing item: 

"a    NEW    ORGAN    FOR    ST.     IGNATIUS    CHURCH. 

Those  members  of  the  congregation  of  St.  Ignatius  Church, 
who  were  not  there  on  last  Sunday,  will  be  pleased  to  learn 
that  the  Fathers  are  about  to  go  to  work  to  substitute  a  new 
and  good  organ  for  the  worn-out  harmonium  that  at  present  does 
duty  so  badly  in  the  choir.  All  the  collections  on  the  second 
Sunday  of  December  next,  will  be  devoted  to  this  purpose,  and 
we  trust  that  the  amount  contributed  will  be  worthy  of  the 
congregation." 

1868. 

On  the  6th  of  January,  as  we  have  said,  Father  John  Ponte 
assumed  Superiorship  of  the  Calif ornian  Mission,  retaining 
Father  Congiato,  however,  as  president  of  the  college. 

If  we  except  the  change  in  government,  there  were  few  events 
to  mark  the  first  half  of  the  year.  An  act  of  pious  generosity, 
however,  must  not  go  unrecorded.  Pope  Pius  IX,  assailed  by 
revolution,  needed  the  assistance  of  the  faithful  to  defend  the 
patrimony  of  the  Church.  On  May  nth,  the  pupils  of  the  col- 
lege were  assembled  and  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  Holy 
Father  was  set  before  them.  They  were  invited  to  contribute  to 
the  relief  of  his  distress,  not  so  much  for  the  amount  of  money 


152  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

that  would  be  realized,  as  for  the  implanting  in  their  young 
hearts  of  devotion  to  the  Church,  and  of  a  spirit  of  sacrifice, 
without  which  religion  is  barren. 

Their  response  was  prompt.  A  purse  of  three  hundred  dol- 
lars was  soon  raised  and  sent  to  Pope  Pius,  as  a  mark  of  filial 
love  from  his  children  in  St.  Ignatius;  and,  though  the  amount 
was  small  compared  with  larger  donations  received  from  others, 
it  was  duly  appreciated  by  the  Vicar  of  Him  who  so  valued  and 
extolled  the  widow's  mite.  The  Ladies'  Sodality,  on  June  26th, 
not  to  be  outdone  in  openness  of  heart  and  devotion  to  Mother 
Church,  by  mere  children,  voted  five  hundred  dollars  of  its 
funds  for  the  relief  and  support  of  the  papal  Zouaves. 

This  deed  of  true  Catholic  generosity  seems  to  have  been 
the  ladies'  answer  to  the  question  debated  at  the  college 
exhibition  on  the  preceding  evening:  "Should  we  erect  a 
monument  to  our  Fallen  on  the  Field  of  Mentana?" — a  delicate 
tribute,  truly,  to  the  ability  with  which  the  subject  had  been 
handled.  They  thought,  and  rightly  so,  that  the  best  tribute 
to  the  hero  dead,  was  the  preservation  and  perpetuation  of 
that  for  which  these  noble  souls  had  given  their  lives,  and  so 
the  donation  took  the  form  of  a  contribution  towards  the 
necessary  expenses  of  a  war  in  defense  of  the  Church's  right. 
Father  Barchi,  during  vacation,  having  been  transferred  to 
Santa  Clara,  turned  over  the  vice-presidency  of  the  college 
to  Father  O'Ferrall,  who,  nevertheless,  continued  to  teach 
English  rhetoric,  as  well  as  mathematics.  From  Santa  Clara 
came  Father  Prelato  to  become  chaplain  of  the  students.  The 
appointment  was  a  happy  one.  Requests  for  missions  were 
pouring  in  upon  Father  Buchard,  and  frequent  absences  were 
undesirable  in  a  college  chaplain.  Father  Prelato  could  give 
an  undivided  attention  to  a  work  which  he  loved.  Moreover, 
his  sympathies  were  ever  with  the  young  in  their  trials  and 
sorrows,  and  youth  is  Argus-eyed  in  distinguishing  its  friends. 
He  spared  the  feelings  of  the  students  but  not  their  faults; 
though,  perhaps,  his  affectionate  heart  sometimes  made  excuses 
where  a  mind  less  tenderly  biased  in  favor  of  the  culprit  would 
have  judged  matters  more  severely.  But  "a  drop  of  honey 
catches  more  flies  than  a  barrel  of  vinegar,"  says  the  sweet- 
souled  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  and  perhaps  for  the  spiritual  welfare 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         153 

of  the  boys  of  St.  Ignatius,  it  was  well  that  kindness  predom- 
inated in  another  Francis.  The  boys  of  Santa  Clara  College, 
who  had  known  him  so  well,  had  dubbed  him  Mother  Prelato, 
and  the  acuteness  of  boyhood  in  touching  off  the  salient 
features  of  a  character,  needs  no  comment. 

Catechism  was  taught  on  Wednesday  at  10  a.  m.  By  this, 
however,  we  are  not  to  understand  catechism  proper,  but  the 
catechetical  instruction  which  was  given  to  the  pupils  in  com- 
mon once  a  week.  The  other  form  of  catechism,  by  question  and 
answer,  was  given  in  the  respective  classes.  The  hours  of  school 
for  the  preceding  year  had  been  from  9  a.  m.  to  3  130  p.  m. 

There  had  been  originally  but  one  entrance  to  the  church 
from  Market  Street,  a  broad  stairway  running  up  to  it  from 
the  sidewalk.  About  the  month  of  August,  however,  two  new 
doors  were  opened,  which,  with  their  corresponding  stairways, 
afforded  the  congregation  increased  facilities  for  entrance  and 
exit.  A  jam  at  the  door,  with  crowds  leaving  divine  service 
especially  on  the  mornings  of  Sundays  and  feast  days,  and 
other  crowds  seeking  to  enter,  had  become  entirely  too  fre- 
quent, and  had  given  rise  to  many  a  murmur  and  complaint. 
Providence,  indeed,  seems  specially  to  have  inspired  the 
thought  of  bettering  matters  at  this  time,  for  the  work  of 
improvement  was  completed  only  in  September,  and,  on 
October  21st,  occurred  the  earthquake  so  famous  in  the  annals 
of  the  city. 

From  the  pen  of  Father  Telesphorus  Demasini,  who  has  left 
us  in  Latin  an  account  of  the  occurrence,  we  translate  the 
following: 

'Til-omened  for  San  Francisco  was  the  21st  of  this  month, 
for  about  8  a.  m.  an  unexpected  earthquake,  lasting  for  forty- 
two  seconds,  shook  the  whole  city  and  the  State  of  California 
far  and  wide,  with  a  force  so  terrible  that  the  inhabitants  re- 
member nothing  like  it  in  former  years.  Still,  for  all  that,  the 
damage  done  either  in  loss  of  life  or  in  the  destruction  of 
property,  was  not  in  proportion  to  its  violence.  As  regards 
ourselves,  the  chief  injury  was  done  to  the  church ;  on  the  out- 
side, by  the  fall  of  two  chimneys  which  overtopped  the  roof; 
and  on  the  inside,  by  that  of  some  of  the  plaster  ornaments  of 


154  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

the  ceiling,  which  were  shattered  on  the  floor,  without,  however, 
doing  injury  to  any  of  the  worshipers.  It  seemed,  therefore, 
more  prudent  to  the  Superiors  of  the  college,  that,  both  on 
the  house  and  church,  the  chimneys  which  at  that  time  rose 
to  a  considerable  height,  should  be  so  cut  down  that  even  if 
other  shocks  should  follow,  no  harm  could  come  from  them. 
And  since  no  slight  danger  was  to  be  feared,  if  the  ceiling 
of  the  church  were  left  as  it  was,  what  remained  of  the  plaster 
was  soon  torn  down,  and  a  tastefully  constructed  wooden 
ceiling  was  put  in  its  place.  This  work  was  not  completed 
without  considerable  time  and  money,  especially  as  it  was  the 
idea  of  Father  President  that  henceforth  the  interior  of  the  church 
should  be  more  beautiful  than  it  had  been  before  the  late 
earthquake.  The  walls  of  the  church,  therefore,  and  the  front 
of  the  gallery  were  neatly  tinted,  and  the  whole  ceiling  adorned 
with  paintings  which,  while  not  of  sublime  art,  gave  pleasure 
to  many  and  excited  the  admiration  of  not  a  few." 

In  briefer  words  in  the  domestic  journal  of  the  college,  we 
have  from  the  same  hand,   a  notice  of  the   earthquake. 

"To-day  about  8  o'clock  the  whole  city  was  shaken  by  a 
horrid  earthquake  lasting  for  the  space  of  forty-two  seconds. 
No  one  of  Ours  suffered  any  harm.  Two  chimneys  on  the 
church  fell,  one  upon  the  roof  and  the  other  into  the  Fathers' 
garden.  In  the  church  itself,  not  a  little  of  the  plaster  of  the 
ceiling  fell  within  the  railing  of  the  sanctuary  and  on  the  pews, 
but  without  injury  to  any  one.  Other  shocks,  but  less  violent, 
followed  during  the  day,  concerning  which,  should  any  desire 
a  more  detailed  account,  let  him  consult  the  newspapers." 

We  present  three  views  taken  after  the  earthquake  by  Mr. 
C.  E.  Watkins;  and  they  certainly  justify  the  wonder  of  Father 
Demasini  that  the  loss  of  life  was  not  appalling.  At  the  time  of 
writing,  Father  Demasini  was  Minister  of  the  college,  having 
succeeded  Father  Charles  Messea  in  that  office.  He  had  arrived 
from  Canada  on  the  9th  of  the  month  and  replaced  Father 
Messea  on  the  19th. 

Not  only  did  the  shocks  recur  during  the  day,  but  light 
ones  were  frequent  visitors  to  San  Francisco  up  to  November 
4th.     Vacations  were  granted   from   Wednesday,   the   21st,   to 


THE  EARTHQUAKE  OF   1868 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         155 

Monday,  the  26th,  for  the  Fathers  were  afraid  of  a  panic  should 
a  severe  shock  take  place  during  the  hours  of  class.  Besides, 
after  the  severe  shaking  received,  who  could  tell  whether  even 
buildings  were  safe?  Although,  as  Father  Demasini  states, 
no  one  was  injured  in  the  church,  those  that  were  there  at 
the  time  were  badly  scared.  We  do  not  blame  them  for  they 
had  ample  reason.  Among  them  were  Father  Michael  O'Fer- 
rall,  who  had  just  reached  the  last  gospel  in  the  mass,  and  his 
server,  Jeremiah  F.  Collins,  at  present  a  Jesuit  Father  in  San  Jose. 
When  the  ceiling  came  down  with  a  crash,  both  thought  that 
prudence  was  the  better  part  of  valor,  and  beat  a  hasty  retreat 
to  the  sacristy,  while  those  who  had  assisted  at  the  mass  sought 
safety  in  the  street.  Some  accounts  have  erroneously  stated 
that  Father  O'Ferrall  had  just  finished  the  consecration.  The 
account  we  give  is  from  the  lips  of  Father  Collins  himself  who 
has  asked  us  to  correct  the  misstatement. 

On  November  13th,  permission  was  given  to  the  congre- 
gation of  the  German  Church  to  use,  for  the  time  being,  the 
old  wooden  church  built  by  Father  Maraschi  and  later  con- 
verted into  the  Sodality  chapel.  St.  Boniface's  could  no  longer 
be  used,  and  the  Germans  were  without  a  place  of  worship.  It 
was  with  much  pleasure  that  the  Fathers  were  able  to  do  them 
this  act  of  kindness,  for  the  most  cordial  relations  had  always 
existed  between  St.  Ignatius  and  the  German  pastor  and  his 
flock.  Arrangements  were  accordingly  made  by  which  the 
services  of  the  various  bodies  interested  could  be  held  without 
mutual  interference,  and,  although  certain  inconveniences  could 
not  be  avoided,  they  were  gladly  put  up  with  on  both  sides, 
owing  to  the  great  good  that  resulted  from  the  accommodation. 

On  December  1st,  the  repairs  on  the  church  and  the  im- 
provements of  which  Father  Demasini  has  told  us  in  speaking 
of  the  earthquake  in  October,  were  actively  begun. 

1869. 
The  work  took  up  the  early  months  of  the  year,  and  Father 
Congiato  was  much  complimented  on  its  completion.  The 
renovated  church,  therefore,  presented  even  a  prettier  sight 
than  usual,  when  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  on  the  feast  of 
St.    Joseph,    March    19th,    administered    Confirmation    in    it. 


156  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Arriving  at  the  college  at  about  10  a.  mv  he  spent  some  time  in 
the  parlors  in  friendly  and  familiar  conversation  with  the 
Fathers.  At  10:30,  solemn  high  mass  began  in  his  presence, 
Reverend  Father  Congiato,  celebrant;  Father  Demasini, 
deacon;  Father  Florence  Sullivan,  subdeacon.  Assisting  the 
Archbishop  on  his  throne  were  Reverend  Fathers  Ponte,  Mes- 
sea  and  Tadini.  Fathers  Imoda  and  Prelato  were  masters  of 
ceremonies.  The  panegyric  of  St.  Joseph  was  preached  by 
His  Grace,  and  when  mass  was  over,  Confirmation  was  admin- 
istered to  two  hundred  and  ninety  persons,  many  of  whom 
were  adults.  After  dining  with  the  Fathers  and  spending  an 
hour  in  pleasant  intercourse  with  them,  His  Grace  departed, 
bearing  with  him  most  pleasant  recollections  of  the  scenes  that 
he  had  witnessed. 

Five  days  later,  the  new  organ  arrived.  It  had  a  triple 
keyboard  and  had  been  manufactured  in  Boston.  Its  cost  was 
$3,500,  and  it  is  said  to  have  been,  at  the  time,  the  best  instru- 
ment in  San  Francisco.  The  Ladies'  Sodality  had,  as  we  have 
seen,  three  years  previously,  contributed  $500  as  the  nucleus 
of  the  purchase.  Other  contributions  had  amounted  to  some- 
thing like  $190;  but  the  remaining  $2,810  had  ultimately  to 
be  defrayed  by  the  generous  offerings  of  the  Altar  Society. 
A  month  was  spent  in  putting  up  the  organ,  and,  during  mass 
on  April  25th,  its  notes  for  the  first  time  resounded  through 
the  church. 

The  closing  exercises  of  the  college  were  held  on  the  even- 
ings of  June  24th  and  25th.  The  introductory  of  the  first 
evening  was  written  by  James  Campbell  and  delivered  by 
Alfred  Kelly.  "The  Isle  of  the  West,"  an  original  English 
poem,  was  delivered  by  its  author,  Robert  Tobin.  Jeremiah 
F.  Sullivan  followed  with  an  essay  on  Astronomy.  John  A. 
Hicks  showed  his  ability  in  a  Greek  Anacreontic  "To  the  Lily 
of  St.  Aloysius."  The  debate  which  succeeded  was  partici- 
pated in  by  A.  J.  Kelly,  Stephen  M.  White,  Charles  Skidmore 
and  James  Campbell,  under  the  chairmanship  of  James  Ryan. 
A  farce,  followed  by  the  distribution  of  premiums  to  the  junior 
classes,  completed  the  programme  of  the  evening.  "The  Fall 
of  Jerusalem,"  condensed  from  Milman,  was  the  chief  feature 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         157 

of  the  second  night,  on  which  the  senior  classes  received  their 
medals  and  premiums. 

July  the  2 1  st  restored  to  us  Father  Buchard  from  Virginia 
City,  where  a  severe  attack  of  sickness  would  doubtless  have 
ended  his  career,  had  not  the  pastor,  Father,  afterward  Bishop 
Manogue,  tended  him  with  a  care  more  than  a  brother's.  The 
same  day  brought  from  the  Eastern  States  the  celebrated  Ger- 
man missionary,  Father  F.  X.  Weninger,  who  came  to  give  a 
mission  to  his  countrymen.  The  exercises  commenced  on  the 
25th  of  the  month,  in  the  old  church  of  1855,  in  which,  as  we 
have  said,  the  German  congregation  had  been  worshiping.  The 
mission  answered  fully  every  anticipation.  New  fervor  was 
stirred  up  in  every  heart,  the  difficulties  which  had  hampered 
the  erection  of  a  new  German  church  were  removed,  and  solid 
foundations  laid  of  a  thriving  parish,  which  the  zealous  sons 
of  St.  Francis  have,  in  our  days,  brought  to  such  perfection. 

Nearly  two  weeks  previously,  on  the  13th  of  the  month, 
Father  Richard  Whyte  departed  for  Ireland,  and  on  August  3rd 
Father  O'Ferrall  followed  him.  The  departure  of  these  Fathers, 
especially  of  the  latter,  who  had  been  identified  with  the  work  of 
St.  Ignatius  for  four  fruitful  years,  was  much  regretted  by  the 
congregation.  Many  hearts  went  with  Father  O'Ferrall  in  his 
long  trip  across  the  continent  and  over  the  ocean,  and  many  a 
prayer  went  up  to  heaven  that  Providence  might  deign  to  send 
him  back  again.  His  Irish  Superiors  had  indeed  wished  to 
recall  him  a  year  previously,  and  had  signified  such  intention  to 
the  Jesuit  Superiors  in  California ;  but  these  latter  had  so  repre- 
sented the  needs  of  St.  Ignatius,  and  so  earnestly  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  retain  the  Father  longer,  that  the  charity  of  the 
Irish  Provincial  would  not  permit  him  to  carry  out  his  plan. 
Father  Emmanuel  Nattini  replaced  Father  O'Ferrall  as  vice- 
president. 

In  July,  Father  Joseph  Bixio,  the  first  assistant  of  Father 
Maraschi  in  the  pioneer  days  of  church  and  college,  returned  to 
St.  Ignatius  to  help  in  the  ministry.  Father  Charles  Messea 
resigned  the  chair  of  natural  science  to  become  parish  priest 
of  Santa  Clara  in  place  of  Father  Bixio;  and,  on  August  19th, 
Father  Joseph  Neri  entered  into  the  position  left  vacant  by 
Father  Messea. 


158  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Late  at  night  on  the  same  day  on  which  Father  Neri  had 
come  from  Santa  Clara,  Father  Joseph  Bayma  arrived.  He  had 
come  from  Europe  with  Father  Francis  Bertonelli  and  Messrs. 
Gregory  Leggio,  Joseph  Dossola  and  Joseph  Sasia,  S.  J.  On 
the  22nd  he  was  announced  as  successor  to  Father  Congiato  in 
the  presidency  of  the  college,  and  he  immediately  entered  upon 
his  duties.  A  residence  of  several  years  in  England  had  made 
him  conversant  with  the  English  language,  in  which,  in  fact, 
somewhat  later,  he  wrote  with  fluency  and  elegance.  Father  Con- 
giato, broken  in  health,  was  transferred  to  Santa  Clara,  though, 
now,  hope  was  almost  abandoned,  that,  even  with  needed  rest, 
a  shattered  constitution  that  seemed  on  the  verge  of  collapse, 
would  ever  again  be  able  to  stand  the  strain  of  wearying  labor. 

The  college  classes  opened  with  some  five  hundred  pupils, 
and  the  crowded  classrooms  called  for  better  accommoda- 
tions. Father  Bayma  immediately  set  about  the  formation  of 
plans;  and  the  result,  if  not  specially  beautiful,  was  at  least  use- 
ful. The  building  was  of  wood,  entirely  devoid  of  ornament 
and  in  the  form  of  an  L. 

The  play  ground  was  to  the  east  of  the  building,  and  con- 
sisted of  a  large  sandlot.  There  was,  also,  a  small  interior  yard 
to  the  north  of  the  main  building  and  south  of  the  church,  in 
which  were  located  the  necessary  outbuildings.  A  passage- 
way connected  this  with  the  main  play  ground.  An  account 
published  in  the  Monitor,  January  8th,  1870,  describes  the  build- 
ing more  fully: 

"THE     NEW     JESUIT     COLLEGE. 

The  indefatigable  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  ever 
mindful  of  the  wants  of  the  community  in  which  they  reside, 
finding  the  schoolrooms  of  their  college  on  Market  Street  inade- 
quate to  accommodate  the  large  numbers  of  pupils  applying  to 
them  for  admission,  have  had  a  commodious  and  handsome 
building  erected  on  Jessie  Street  directly  back  of  and  adjoining 
the  old  college.  The  new  building  is  three  stories  high.  The 
first  and  second  stories  (each  16  feet  high)  contain  sixteen 
schoolrooms,  besides  the  office  of  the  secretary  and  prefect  of 
studies,  a  chemical  laboratory  and  a  physical  museum.  The  edi- 
fice is  formed  of  two  distinct  parts :    The  first,  which  is  a  square 


FATHER  JOSEPH  BAYMA,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         159 

of  85x85  feet,  is  destined  for  the  students  of  the  lower  classes; 
the  second,  which  is  a  rectangular  prolongation  of  the  first,  meas- 
ures 72x27  feet,  and  is  intended  for  the  students  of  mental, 
moral  and  natural  philosophy,  chemistry,  physics  and  higher 
mathematics.  In  the  square  portion,  there  are  the  following 
rooms:  On  the  first  floor,  there  are  five  classrooms,  three  of 
which  are  36x27  feet,  one  36x28,  and  one  30x28 ;  on  the  second 
floor,  there  are  nine  classrooms.  The  third  story  forms  a  large 
hall,  which  is  intended  for  exhibitions  and  other  literary 
exercises. 

In  the  rectangular  portion  of  the  building  there  are,  on 
the  first  floor,  a  laboratory,  a  classroom  for  chemistry,  another 
for  philosophy.  In  the  second  story  are  the  physical  museum 
and  a  classroom  for  physics.  The  third  story  will  be  used  as  a 
chapel  for  the  Boys'  Sodality.  The  new  building  will  accommo- 
date about  seven  hundred  pupils.  The  exhibition  hall  is  suffi- 
cient to  contain  nearly  fifteen  hundred  persons.  The  style  of 
architecture  is  regular  classical;  simple,  yet  imposing.  All  the 
ceilings  are  made  of  lumber.  .  .  .  The  cost  of  the  structure, 
when  completed,  will  be  over  $28,000.  There  is  a  tower  in 
course  of  erection  in  the  rear  of  St.  Ignatius,  octagonal  in  shape 
and  95  feet  high.  The  tower  can  be  entered  by  doors  from 
any  story  of  the  new  structure,  and  doors  will  be  cut  in  the 
old  church  directly  back  of  the  altar  and  galleries  for  the  same 
purpose.  The  bell  (of  cast  steel,  weight  nearly  6,000  pounds), 
the  largest  in  California,  was  raised  on  the  31st  of  December 
last,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  many  devout  persons  who  hitherto 
could  not  hear  its  call  to  church  service.  At  the  top  of  the 
tower,  room  is  left  for  a  clock  showing  the  hours  on  the  four 
sides,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  public.  We  hear,  however, 
that  the  Reverend  Fathers  are  not  going  just  now  to  provide 
the  clock,  as  they  have  been  under  heavy  expenses  on  account 
of  their  new  building.  It  is  expected  that  the  college  will  be 
ready  for  the  pupils  this  week,  or  early  next.  The  woodwork 
is  completed  and  the  painters  have  nearly  finished.  Very  Rev. 
Father  Bayma,  S.  J.,  president  of  St.  Ignatius  College,  is  the 
architect,  and  Frank  Buckley,  Esq.,  builder,  and  both  gentle- 
men have  cause  to  feel  proud  of  their  work.  A  common  impres- 
sion   prevails    that    all    pupils    attending    St.    Ignatius    College 


160  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

pay  for  their  tuition.  Such  is  not  the  case.  The  rules  of  the 
college  require  pay,  but  there  are  many  attending  whose  parents 
cannot  afford  the  pension,  small  as  it  is,  so  the  good  Fathers 
teach  their  children  gratis.  But  all  that  can  afford  are  required 
to  pay  regularly.  There  are  about  five  hundred  boys  attending 
the  college;  nearly  one-half  of  them,  we  are  informed,  do  not 
pay  a  cent." 

The  building  was  begun  in  October,  and,  by  December,  had 
cost  some  $21,000;  before  completion  in  1870,  it  had  cost  about 
$16,000  more.  At  the  same  time,  as  we  have  been  told,  a  tower 
for  the  big  bell  was  planned  by  Father  Bayma,  and  the  Sodali- 
ties were  asked  to  give  financial  assistance.  The  minutes  of 
the  Ladies'  Sodality  contain  the  following  interesting  details : 

"In  the  month  of  October,  A.  D.  1869,  the  Rev.  Father 
Bayma,  S.  J.,  president  of  St.  Ignatius  College,  through  the 
Rev.  Father  Accolti,  director  of  the  Sodality,  presented  a  request 
to  it  in  order  to  obtain  from  its  members  some  contribu- 
tion out  of  their  treasury  toward  the  erection  of  a  tower  for 
the  bell  of  the  church.  This  being  a  matter  to  be  decided  by 
the  consultors,  and  only  four  consultors  out  of  the  twelve  being 
present,  eight  consultors  pro  tern  were  elected  by  the  whole 
Sodality,  in  order  that  they  might  meet  together  in  the  parlor 
of  the  college  immediately  after  the  ordinary  devotions  were  over. 

The  estimate  of  the  expenses  for  the  erection  of  said  tower 
amounting  to  $1,500 — on  motion  of  Mrs.  Adams,  seconded  by 
Mrs.  Rice,  it  was  decided  that  if  the  money  existing  in  the  treas- 
ury amounted  to  $1,000,  $750  should  be  given  to  the  college 
for  the  object  proposed.  But  should  the  sum  existing  in  the 
treasury  be  less  than  that  amount,  then  only  what  remained  over 
$250  should  be  given,  which  latter  sum,  in  all  cases,  should  be 
kept  in  the  treasury  for  the  use  of  the  Sodality.  The  consultors 
voted  for  the  motion,  which  was  carried  unanimously. 

The  real  sum  existing  in  the  treasury  being  ascertained,  it 
was  found  not  to  exceed  $800.  Therefore,  only  $550  were  given 
for  the  erection  of  the  aforesaid  tower.  At  the  next  meeting 
of  the  Sodality  the  whole  transaction  was  put  before  the  Sodal- 
ists,  and  all,  none  excepted,  approved  and  confirmed  the  action 
of  the  consultors. 

M.  L.  Accolti,   S.  J., 

Director." 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         161 

The  sum  actually  contributed  by  the  Sodality  was  $634.42, 
for  such  was  the  amount  remaining  at  the  time  of  contribution, 
November  2nd,  after  deducting  the  $250  that  were  to  be  retained 
in  the  treasury.  To  this  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  added  $250 
on  November  5th,  and  the  bell  was  soon  supplied  with  a 
home. 

The  clock  for  the  tower  never  materialized,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  Fathers,  ever  struggling  with  debt,  were  never  able 
to  put  aside  the  money  required  for  its  purchase;  but  the  hours 
were  marked  upon  the  dials,  the  types  of  hopes  unverified ;  vainly 
waiting,  as  they  were,  to  be  indicated  by  a  hand  that  never  came. 

On  the  24th  of  November,  Father  Weninger  returned  from 
Oregon.  In  the  first  days  of  September  he  had  gone  thither 
with  Brother  Achilles  Carfagno,  and  now  he  had  come  back  to 
give  a  mission  in  English  in  St.  Ignatius.  Of  the  good  Father's 
English  we  cannot  say  much  in  commendation,  for  we  think 
that  but  few  of  his  hearers  grasped  any  great  part  of  what  he 
said ;  but  his  zeal,  his  earnestness,  his  piety  spoke  to  the  eye  and 
were  understood  by  every  heart,  and  numerous  and  striking 
were  the  conversions  that  the  Holy  Spirit  wrought  by  his  means. 
The  mission  began  on  the  28th  of  the  month  and  ended  on  the 
Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  On  the  28th  of  Decem- 
ber, not  the  31st,  as  stated  in  the  Monitor,  the  big  bell  was  raised 
to  its  place  in  the  tower  "to  ring  out  the  old  and  ring  in  the 
new" ;  though,  to  our  thinking,  the  new  that  it  rang  in  for  St. 
Ignatius  was  only  an  increase  of  the  old  that  it  rang  out — debt — 
debt — debt — the  new  building  like  the  old,  had  to  be  erected  on 
borrowed  money. 

1870. 
Classes  were  resumed  on  January  7th,  1870,  and,  on  the  14th, 
they  moved  into  the  new  college.  In  the  happiness  of  expec- 
tancy, Father  Prelato,  in  his  valuable  diary,  notes  on  the  13th: 
"To-morrow  we  shall  occupy  the  new  schoolrooms."  The  base- 
ment of  the  church  was  now,  for  the  most  part,  vacant ;  partitions 
were  removed,  and  the  large  space  thus  created  was  turned  over 
to  the  Sodalities  for  the  purposes  of  chapel,  meeting-rooms, 
libraries,  etc.,  and,  as  the  domestic  chapel  of  the  Fathers  was 


1 62  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

small  and  inconvenient,  it  was  decided,  a  little  later  in  the  year, 
to  use  the  Sodality  chapel  as  the  domestic  chapel  as  well. 

My  readers  will,  I  doubt  not,  be  astonished  to  learn  that  at 
this  very  time,  and  in  spite  of  the  improvements  made  and  the 
expenses  incurred,  the  Fathers  were  mooting  the  question  of 
removal.  They  were  indeed  obliged  to  attend  to  the  urgency 
of  present  needs,  which  had  necessitated  and  was  necessitating 
the  outlay  of  considerable  money,  but,  for  all  that,  they  were 
not  blind  to  the  trend  of  events  and  the  evident  difficulties  of 
the  future.  A  quieter  location  for  the  church  was  desired,  that 
the  bustle  of  daily  life  should  not  obtrude  itself  so  constantly  on 
the  silence  of  the  house  of  God.  Taxation,  too,  was  becoming 
a  very  heavy  burden,  and  those  that  scanned  the  future  knew 
that,  on  the  present  site,  permanence  could  never  be.  Later  in 
the  year,  the  matter  was  laid  before  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop, 
with  what  result  we  shall  see  in  its  proper  place. 

A  summarized  description  of  the  new  buildings  appears  in 
this  year's  catalogue.  "A  substantial  three-story  building,"  it 
says,  "has  been  erected  this  year.  It  is  entered  from  Jessie 
Street  and  contains  sixteen  schoolrooms,  besides  a  chapel, 
audience  hall,  reception-rooms,  chemical  laboratory,  assaying 
office,  and  museum  of  mineralogy  and  natural  philosophy.  The 
scientific  department  is  furnished  with  a  very  extensive  and 
choice  collection  of  apparatus  manufactured  to  order  in  Paris, 
and  with  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  most  complicated  manipu- 
lation and  analysis." 

We  offer  our  readers  a  view  of  the  college  built  by  Father 
Bayma,  as  seen  from  the  playground  on  Jessie  Street.  We  had 
sought,  and  sought  in  vain  for  a  photograph  of  the  building, 
until  Mr.  Charles  B.  Turrill  discovered  an  incomplete  one  in 
the  collection  of  Mr.  C.  E.  Watkins.  From  this  and  other 
photographs,  and  the  faithful  memories  of  old  students,  Mr. 
Michael  O' Sullivan  has  drawn  a  picture  of  the  college  and  its 
surroundings  in  the  early  Seventies,  and,  while  completeness  of 
detail  is  more  than  we  can  hope  for,  we  feel  confident  that  old 
students  will  recognize  the  various  familiar  features  of  former 
St.  Ignatius. 


S     N 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         163 

The  hours  of  class  are  from  9  a.  m.  to  3  p.  m.  The  require- 
ments of  Catholic  pupils  are: 

1  st.  That  they  shall  approach  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  at 
least  once  a  month; 

2nd.  That  every  Sunday  they  shall  be  present  at  2  130  p.  m. 
for  Christian  doctrine. 

The  Sodalities  among  the  students  find,  for  the  first  time, 
their  place  in  the  college  catalogue.  In  the  Sodality  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  there  are  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 
active  members ;  in  that  of  the  Holy  Angels,  there  are  forty-nine. 
Father  Prelato,  the  students'  friend  and  confessor,  has  the  direc- 
tion of  both. 

The  exhibition  covered  two  nights,  and  the  programme 
informs  us  that  "every  speech,  poem  or  lecture  is  the  pupil's 
composition." 

The  changes  in  the  faculty  are  fewer  than  usual.  Father 
Raffo  teaches  mathematics  and  Messrs.  Joseph  Sasia  and  Aloysius 
Raggio,  S.  J.,  assist  in  the  college. 

Since  what  was  used  as  a  church  was  not  properly  such, 
but  the  college  hall  devoted  temporarily  to  the  purposes  of  divine 
worship,  in  its  building  no  proper  provision  had  been  made 
for  sacristies.  The  need  had  been  felt  long  and  acutely,  but 
it  was  easier  to  preceive  it  than  to  provide  its  remedy.  With 
the  erection  of  the  bell-tower,  however,  the  needed  space  was 
supplied;  for  this  tower  adjoined  the  church.  A  new  sacristy 
was  accordingly  fitted  up  in  it  and  occupied,  for  the  first  time, 
about  the  end  of  July. 

In  the  beginning  of  December,  Father  Bayma  addressed 
a  letter  to  His  Grace,  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  on  the 
subject  of  the  removal  of  the  church  and  college  of  St.  Ignatius. 
On  the  5th  of  the  month,  an  answer  was  returned  in  which 
His  Grace  demurred  from  the  choice  of  site  proposed. 

(**)  "After  the  same  (serious  reflection),"  he  says  to 
Father  Bayma,  "I  would  propose  that  your  new  place  follow 
the  rule  found  necessary  to  avoid  trouble  between  churches, 
namely,  to  have  them  fourteen  or  thirteen  blocks  from  each 
other.  Should  this  rule  be  unacceptable,  I  believe  that  I  might 
offer  the  church  of  St.  Francis,  or  that  of  St.  Bridget,  or  that 
of  St.  Peter,  or  any  place  east  of  Third  and  Harrison  Streets. 


164  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Of  course,  whatever  I  would  propose,  should  finally  meet  with 
the  approval  of  the  Holy  See.  I  beg  that  you  will  charitably 
join  me  in  offering  the  Holy  Sacrifice  and  many  Rosaries  that 
through  the  powerful  intercession  of  the  holy  patriarchs,  St. 
Ignatius  and  St.  Dominic,  all  may  be  settled  well  and  turn  to 

God's  honor  and  glory. 

Very  respectfully, 
iJosEPH  S.  Alemany,  O.  P.,  A.  S.  F. 
Rev.  Joseph   Bayma,   S.  J." 

On  receipt  of  this  answer,  the  matter  was  practically  dropped 
until  some  years  later,  when  circumstances  over  which  the 
Fathers  had  no  control,  necessitated  action,  and  established 
church  and  college  where  they  now  stand.  The  debt  at  this 
time  had  grown  to  $171,524. 

The  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  was  the  occasion 
of  a  very  pretty  celebration  in  our  church,  when  fifty-six  of  our 
pupils  received  their  First  Communion  from  the  hands  of  Bishop 
Gould  of  Melbourne,  Australia.  The  students'  Sodalities  at- 
tended in  a  body,  and  afterwards  marched  to  the  chapel  of  the 
Gentlemen's  Sodality,  where  they  renewed  their  baptismal 
vows.  The  secretary  of  the  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
then  read  a  protest  against  the  invasion  of  the  rights  of  the 
Church  by  the  King  of  Sardinia,  and  the  students  dispersed 
to  their  homes. 

About  mid-December,  Father  Weninger  was  again  in  Cali- 
fornia, having  come  hither  from  Oregon.  At  the  same  time 
the  Sodality  chapel  was  being  painted  and  beautified,  and  the 
ladies  were  intent  on  the  bazaar  that  they  had  planned  for  the 
benefit  of  their  library.  The  labor  and  strain  seem  to  have 
overtaxed  the  strength  of  Father  Accolti,  for  on  Christmas 
Eve  he  was  attacked  by  a  serious  illness  which  confined  him 
to  a  sickroom  for  several  months.  Thus  we  read  in  the  minutes 
of  the  Ladies'  Sodality,  April  15th,  1871 : 

"Owing  to  the  protracted  illness  of  our  worthy  director, 
we  have  not  been  able  to  hold  our  regular  monthly  meetings; 
but,  through  our  Lord's  mercy  and  goodness,  our  beloved  and 
esteemed  director,  Rev.  Father  Accolti,  has  been  spared,  and 
now  presides,  for  the  first  time  in  several  months,  at  our  first 
meeting  since  the  bazaar  was  held." 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         165 

1871. 

In  the  beginning  of  1871,  partly  owing  to  the  generous 
devotion  of  Father  Bayma  to  science,  and  partly,  though  even 
more  so,  to  the  energetic  efforts  of  Father  Joseph  Neri,  pro- 
fessor of  the  natural  sciences,  the  physical  cabinet  of  the  college 
began  to  grow  rapidly  in  practical  utility  and  scientific  im- 
portance. Only  the  very  best  that  Mr.  Dubosque,  the  famous 
manufacturer  of  scientific  apparatus  in  Paris,  could  supply,  was 
ordered  or  accepted.  Somewhat  later,  the  art  of  Mr.  Ritchie  of 
Boston  was  called  into  requisition  to  supply  some  superb  induc- 
tion coils  and  other  instruments,  in  the  manufacture  of  which 
his  firm  excelled. 

As  the  outlay  was  very  great  and  the  college  finances  were 
correspondingly  slim,  a  course  of  public  lectures  was  deter- 
mined upon  to  help  defray  expenses.  These  lectures  were 
given  in  January  and  February,  and  though,  from  the  financial 
standpoint,  they  did  not  prove  as  satisfactory  as  could  have 
been  desired,  compensation  was  ample  in  the  prestige  acquired. 
The  public  awoke  to  the  fact  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  a 
well-equipped  college  in  their  midst,  and  appreciated  it  accord- 
ingly. 

During  these  same  months,  the  money  realized  by  the 
Christmas  bazaar  was  spent  by  the  ladies  in  fitting  up  their 
library,  and  soon  its  shelves  began  to  be  stocked  with  standard 
works  of  literature  and  piety.  The  enterprise  so  zealously 
begun,  has  never  been  interrupted  even  up  to  our  own  days, 
and  the  present  library  of  the  Ladies'  Sodality  is  a  credit  to 
the  taste,  and  judgment,  and  generous  support  afforded  it  by 
successive  generations  of  Sodalists. 

On  the  Feast  of  St.  Joseph,  Father  Weninger  began,  to 
attentive  audiences,  a  week's  mission  in  the  church;  but  though 
the  fruits  were  indeed  consoling,  and  many  careless  hearts  were 
brought  back  to  the  fervor  of  a  Christian  life,  the  phenomenal 
results  of  the  first  mission  were  not  repeated. 

In  April,  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  anxious  to  do  some- 
thing for  the  thousands  of  Chinese  already  in  our  city,  and  the 
hordes  that,  month  after  month,  were  pouring  into  it,  sent  the 
following  letter  to   Father  Ponte: 


1 66  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

**  "San  Francisco,  April  27th,   1871. 

Very  Reverend  dear  Sir: 

We  have  so  many  Chinese  in  the  diocese  (dovrei  meglio 
scrivere  in  Italiano) — Abbiamo  tanti  Cinesi  in  questa  diocesi 
e  specialmente  in  questa  citta,  che  dobbiamo  provvedere  alle 
loro  anime.  Io  parecchie  volte  ho  procurato  di  fare  qualche 
cosa,  ma  pare  che  per  questa  difficilissima  missione  vi  sia 
necessaria  la  pazienza  di  qualche  corpo  religiose  Dunque  la 
pregarei  di  volere  accettare  la  cura  di  questa  povera  gente  le 
di  cui  anime  hanno  un  gran  diritto  al  nostro  ministero  e  carita. 

Umo  e  Dmo  Servo, 
f  Giuseppe  S.  Alemany,  A.   S.  F. 
Mto  Rndo  G.  B.  Ponte,  S.  J.  Supr." 

"San  Francisco,  April  27th,  1871. 
Very  Reverend  dear  Sir: 

We  have  so  many  Chinese  in  the  diocese  (I  had  better 
write  in  Italian) — We  have  so  many  Chinese  in  this  diocese, 
that  we  should  make  some  provision  for  their  souls.  On 
several  occasions  I  have  done  something,  but  it  seems  that,  for 
this  most  difficult  mission,  the  patience  of  some  body  of  Religious 
is  needed.  I  therefore  beg  you  to  accept  the  care  of  this  poor 
people,  whose  souls  have  a  great  claim  on  our  ministry  and 
charity. 

Your  most  humble  and  devoted  servant, 

f  Joseph  S.  Alemany,  A.  S.  F. 
Very  Rev.  J.  B.  Ponte,  S.  J.  Supr." 

What  answer  Father  Ponte  returned  His  Grace  is  not  pre- 
served, and  hence  we  cannot  say  with  certainty  why  this  work, 
so  acceptable  to  the  Society  of  Jesus,  was  not  undertaken. 
The  mission  offered,  presented,  indeed,  many  and  grave  diffi- 
culties. The  Fathers  had  already  more  work  pressing  upon 
them  than  they  could  well  attend  to  and  were  deeply  in  debt. 
The  new  mission  would  require  several  men,  since  not  only 
those  that  would  be  actually  employed  in  evangelical  work 
would  be  engaged  in  it,  but  several  others  also  who  would  have 
to  labor  constantly  that  they  might  be  ready  to  replace  such 
as  sickness  would  disable  or  death  call  away.  A  new  language, 
new  ideas  and  customs,  the  fact  that  the  greater  part  of  the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         167 

Chinese  were  practically  not  their  own  masters,  the  class  of 
Chinese  which  offered  so  little  field  for  the  nobler  virtues  of 
the  gospel,  added  to  lack  of  resources,  supplied  an  array  of  rea- 
sons which  must  make  any  prudent  Superior  hesitate. 

It  was  not  desirable  to  begin  the  work  and  then  be  forced 
to  abandon  it.  It  was  consequently  not  to  be  thought  of 
until  permanency  could  be  reasonably  assured.  In  the  face 
of  these  difficulties  and  uncertainties,  it  was  judged  more  pru- 
dent to  decline  the  mission. 

Nearly  two  years  had  now  sped  since  the  coming  of  Father 
Weninger  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  years  spent  in  the  arduous  toil 
of  missionary  life,  and  his  Eastern  Superiors  began  to  feel  the 
need  of  his  return.  The  Middle  West  was  the  home  of  the 
German  immigrant  and  offered  a  tempting  field  for  talents 
like  his.  The  necessary  orders  were  sent,  and,  on  May  nth, 
he  started  homeward,  loving  California  and  loved  by  her  in 
return. 

About  this  time  a  piece  of  property  was  acquired  which, 
in  God's  providence,  was  destined,  over  a  quarter  of  a  century 
later,  to  be  a  prime  factor  in  the  welfare  of  St.  Ignatius.  It 
was  a  portion  of  the  San  Pablo  ranch,  famous  in  the  legal 
annals  of  California.  The  land,  indeed,  was  barren  and  gave 
back  little  to  the  cultivator  in  return  for  his  toil,  but  bordering, 
as  it  did,  on  deep  water,  it  enjoyed  a  distinct  commercial  value 
which  did  not  escape  the  keen  eye  of  Father  Maraschi.  He 
submitted  to  all  the  expenses  and  worries  of  a  long  and  weary 
litigation,  but  he  clung  to  the  barren  hills,  and  it  is  well  that 
he  did  so. 

The  catalogue  of  1870-71  notes  an  increase  in  the  college 
classrooms  from  sixteen  to  eighteen,  thus  indicating  the  growth 
in  the  number  of  the  students.  It  also  defines  more  clearly  the 
requirements  for  college  degrees. 

"The  degree  of  A.  B.  is  conferred  on  all  who  have  given 
satisfactory  evidence  of  their  acquirements  in  classics,  mathe- 
matics, logic,  metaphysics,  physics  and  chemistry. 

The  degree  of  A.  M.  is  conferred  on  those  who,  after  receiv- 
ing the  degree  of  A.  B.,  are  found  sufficiently  qualified  in  higher 
mathematics,  ethics  and  natural  law,  embracing  the  fundamental 
principles  of  civil,  political  and  international  law." 


1 68  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

The  changes  in  the  faculty  of  the  college,  save  among  the 
secular  teachers,  were  exceptionally  few.  Messrs.  Joseph  Sasia 
and  Aloysius  Raggio,  S.  J.,  went  to  Santa  Clara;  Father  Joseph 
Bixio  to  San  Jose ;  Fathers  Caesar  A.  Barchi  and  Charles  Messea 
come  from  Santa  Clara  to  take  part  in  the  ministry;  Father 
Clement  Vigna  resided  here  for  some  time  on  his  way  to  Brazil. 

On  July  2nd,  the  Catholics  of  San  Francisco  celebrated  the 
Silver  Jubilee  of  the  Pontificate  of  Pope  Pius  IX.  Besides  the 
religious  services  proper  to  the  occasion,  a  grand  public  proces- 
sion was  determined  upon,  with  the  approval  of  His  Grace,  the 
Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  who,  by  letter,  invited  the  Fathers 
with  their  congregation  to  take  part  in  it.  "Our  congregation, 
walking  two  by  two,"  says  the  college  historian,  "proceeded  along 
Market  Street  to  Fourth  and  thence  to  Harrison.  First  came  a 
band  of  music,  then  the  McMahon  Grenadiers.  Following  these 
were  two  carriages  containing  seven  of  our  Fathers,  and  next  the 
Gentlemen's  Sodality,  preceded  on  foot  by  Father  Adolph 
Vasseur,  a  missionary  from  China,  and  Father  Emmanuel 
Nattini,  prefect  of  schools.  Then  came  the  Boys'  Sodality,  some 
of  whom  bore  a  symbol  of  the  Church  instituted  by  Christ,  and 
after  them  came  the  Sanctuary  Society,  some  of  whose  members 
bore  a  chapel  of  elegant  workmanship.  The  whole  procession 
was  said  to  contain  some  twenty  thousand  men;  men,  I  say,  for 
the  female  sex  was  excluded,  if  we  except  a  small  band  of  girls 
from  the  Sisters'  Academy  at  Mission  Dolores,  all  of  whom 
were  accommodated  in  one  wagon. 

The  whole  procession  was  divided  into  twelve  sections ;  ours 
was  the  seventh,  and  marched  on  foot  between  the  congregation 
of  St.  Patrick's  and  that  of  the  French  Church.  Meanwhile,  the 
windows  both  of  the  residence  and  of  the  church  were  festooned 
with  bunting  of  yellow  and  white,  the  Papal  colors.  A  picture 
of  the  Supreme  Pontiff  stood  out  over  the  large  window  over- 
looking the  entrance  to  the  house.  The  parlors,  halls  and  rooms 
facing  Market  Street  were  bright  with  gas  jets,  while  from  the 
largest  of  the  windows  the  electric  light  sent  forth  its  beams, 
lighting  up  Market  Street  and  the  adjacent  buildings."  Our 
historian  omits  to  mention  the  presence  in  the  St.  Ignatius  divi- 
sion of  Marcello,  the  Indian  Chief  and  last  of  his  tribe,  who 
for  many  years  was  a  remarkable  figure  around  Santa  Clara. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         169 

Philip,  the  Kanaka,  was  also  present  to  express  as  fully  as  possi- 
ble the  catholicity  of  the  Church  over  which  Pope  Pius  ruled. 

The  Monitor  of  July  8th,  contains  the  following  flattering 
notice  of  the  St.  Ignatius  division.  It  will  complete  in  some 
details  the  account  just  given  : 

"the  seventh  division 
was  a  handsome  one.  The  marshal  of  it  was  Jeremiah  F.  Sulli- 
van ;  aids,  John  A.  Coffey,  Robert  Tobin  and  Charles  McFadden. 
That  fine  company,  the  MacMahon  Guard,  preceded  by 
Walcott's  Band,  led.  The  guard  was  seventy-seven  strong. 
Two  carriages  and  pair  followed,  containing  Fathers  Buchard, 
Sullivan,  Demasini  and  Ponte  in  one,  and  Fathers  Bixio,  Young 
and  Affranchino  in  the  other.  Upon  the  box  of  one  of  the 
carriages  was  a  magnificent  cross. 

Then  came  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary.  They  numbered  about  two  hundred  and  thirty,  and 
looked  remarkably  well,  being  all  well  dressed  and  wearing  the 
blue  ribbon  and  silver  medal  of  their  Sodality  around  their  necks. 
The  officers  were  distinguished  by  red  ribbons. 

Following  them  came  the  Boys'  Sodality  of  B.  V.  M. 
Marshal,  R.  E.  McGill;  aids,  Masters  Willie  Bamber,  B.  P. 
Oliver,  Peter  McGlynn  and  James  M.  McGlynn.  They  wore 
green  scarfs,  or  rather  collars,  and  numbered  one  hundred,  and 
carried  with  them  a  platform  representing  water  flowing  amid 
rocks.  Upon  a  rock  in  the  center,  representing,  of  course,  St. 
Peter,  was  a  towered  church  (the  Church  of  Christ),  on  one  of 
the  walls  of  which  was  the  inscription,  To  Pius  IX,  Sodality  of 
St.  Ignatius  College.'  We  must  not  forget  to  mention  a  hand- 
some banner  having  on  one  side  the  Papal  arms  and  on  the  other 
the  inscription,  'Thou  art  Peter.' 

Next,  one  of  the  most  picturesque  features  of  the  proces- 
sion, came  the  boys  of  the  Sanctuary  Society  of  St.  Ignatius. 
They  were  dressed  as  they  are  when  they  'serve'  at  the  altar,  viz : 
in  scarlet  soutan  and  cape,  lace  surplice  over  the  scarlet,  and 
scarlet  cap.     There  were,  we  believe,  twenty-four. 

The  congregation  of  St.  Ignatius  Church  then  followed  on 
foot." 


lyo  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

The  gaining  of  the  Jubilee  indulgence  was,  by  His  Grace, 
assigned  to  the  15th  of  August,  and  numberless  were  the  com- 
munions distributed  in  the  church  on  that  day.  It  was  a  stirring- 
up  of  the  faithful  long  to  be  remembered,  and  proved  that  the 
roots  of  faith  were  deep  in  the  hearts  of  many  in  whom,  unfor- 
tunately, the  fruits  of  practical  religious  life  were  entirely  too 
scant.  Two  days  later,  Father  Congiato,  in  company  with 
Messrs.  Gregory  Leggio  and  Anthony  Tardella,  S.  J.,  departed 
for  the  East;  he,  on  business  to  some  of  the  Eastern  cities; 
they,  to  study  theology  at  Woodstock.  The  day  previous,  Father 
Ponte  had  gone  to  San  Jose  to  replace  Father  Congiato  as 
parish  priest  and  Superior  of  the  residence  during  the  latter's 
absence.  This  lasted  until  the  12th  of  the  following  month,  and, 
on  the  14th,  Father  Ponte  returned  to  St.  Ignatius  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  inauguration  of  the  new  Debating  Hall.  It  was  about 
this  time  that  the  Ignatian  Literary  Society  was  instituted  under 
the  presidency  of  Father  Nattini. 

"This  society,"  we  learn  from  its  constitution  and  by-laws, 
"shall  be  known  as  the  Ignatian  Literary  Society  of  St.  Ignatius 
College. 

The  objects  of  this  society  shall  be  the  improvement  of  all 
connected  with  it,  in  debate,  social  advancement  and  general 
literature. 

All  questions  bordering  on  immorality,  sectarianism  and 
direct  politics  shall  be  excluded. 

None  under  the  age  of  sixteen  years  shall  be  eligible  for 
membership." 

The  number  of  active  members  had  reached  twenty-nine  by 
the  end  of  the  scholastic  year,  an  excellent  indication  of  its  life 
and  activity,  a  reflex  of  the  untiring  energy  of  Father  Nattini. 

Strive,  however,  as  the  Fathers  would  to  do  their  best,  they 
could  not  avoid  the  tongue  of  censure.  While  it  wagged  only 
in  private,  even  though  its  comments  were  unjust,  they  bore  with 
it  in  silence;  but,  when  emboldened,  it  made  itself  heard  in 
public,  they  thought  it  their  duty  to  state  the  truth  plainly. 
Hence  the  following  to  the  Monitor: 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         171 

"St.  Ignatius  College,  Sept.  28th,   1871. 
Editor  Monitor: 

As  we  have  heard  on  unquestionable  authority  that,  in  a 
certain  public  place  in  this  city,  in  discussing  the  merits  of  Catho- 
lic schools,  it  has  lately  been  asserted  that,  at  St.  Ignatius  Col- 
lege, the  Jesuits  make  their  scholars  pay  very  well,  and  that 
very  few  receive  the  privilege  of  a  gratuitous  education,  we  think 
it  proper  to  bring  before  the  public  the  following  facts :  For 
the  last  five  years  the  average  number  of  pupils  has  been  474 
per  year.  From  the  last  report  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Public  Schools,  it  appears  that  the  cost  per  pupil  is  $40  per 
year.  Should  we,  therefore,  take  the  same  as  a  standard,  it 
would  follow  that  our  yearly  receipts  pay  for  an  average  of 
184  pupils  at  most,  leaving  a  balance  of  201  pupils  per 
year,  of  whom  we  receive  no  compensation.  When  this  is 
taken  in  connection  with  the  nature  of  our  institution, 
which  is  not  a  common  school,  but  an  incorporated  college 
having  all  the  rights  and  prerogatives  of  the  best  univer- 
sities, imparting  to  her  pupils  every  branch  of  knowledge 
and  fitting  them  for  the  highest  positions  in  society,  it  will 
be  evident  to  any  unbiased  mind  that  the  assertions  we  criticise, 
are  illiberal  and  uncharitable.  Those  who  made  them  could  do 
something  more  useful  to  the  community  than  dissuade  Catholic 
parents  from  sending  their  children  to  a  Catholic  college.  Their 
zeal  would  show  to  better  advantage,  if  they  spoke  of  helping 
Catholic  schools  to  teach  the  thousands  of  Catholic  children  in 
this  city,  whom  Catholic  schools  are  unable  to  accommodate.  As 
it  is,  we  do  not  require  payment  as  a  necessary  condition  of 
admission;  but  we  do  require  quiet  behavior,  close  application 
and  gentlemanly  manners.  A  deficiency  in  these  requirements, 
especially  the  last,  and  not  that  of  money,  justifies  a  refusal 
either  to  admit  or  to  keep  a  pupil.  Time  and  again  have  we 
admitted  deserving  pupils  who  had  been  refused  admission 
into  other  schools,  for  the  reason,  we  were  informed,  that  they 
could  not  pay.  Were  it  our  primary  object  to  make  our  college 
a  paying  institution,  we  would  certainly  adopt  a  different  policy. 
But  we  can  inform  our  patrons  and  the  public  that  our  expenses 
are  considerably  greater  than  our  receipts,  and  this  is  the  best 
apology  we  can  offer  for  inviting  our  friends  to  the  College 


172  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Hall  sometime  next  month,  that  we  may  dispose  of  some  gifts 
at  the  'Ladies'  Enterprise'  for  the  benefit  of  the  school. 

J.  Bayma,  S.  J., 

President." 

Our  readers  must  pardon  us  for  calling  their  attention  to  a 
point  which  otherwise  they  might  overlook.  Father  Bayma  is 
speaking  of  the  gross  receipts  of  the  college,  not  of  the  net 
profits.  He  is  speaking  of  what  was  received  for  tuition,  with- 
out reference  to  expenses.  Had  he  spoken  from  the  standpoint 
of  net  gain,  the  case  would  have  been  even  stronger  in  his  favor. 
In  fact,  during  this  very  year,  though  the  receipts  were  $7,760, 
the  expenses  were  $8,590,  a  net  loss  from  a  business  stand- 
point of  some  $830.  Instead  of  the  Fathers  receiving  a  cent 
for  their  own  labors,  they  had  been  obliged  to  contribute  from 
other  sources  over  $800  to  keep  the  college  in  existence.  No 
wonder  that  silent  forbearance  had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue. 

The  2 1  st  of  October  brought  us  a  welcome  guest  in  the  per- 
son of  Bishop  J.  B.  Miege,  the  Ordinary  of  what  was  afterward 
the  diocese  of  Leavenworth,  Kansas.  He  was  on  his  way  to 
Mexico  and  kindred  Latin  Republics  to  raise  funds  to  liquidate 
the  debt  under  which  his  diocese  labored,  in  order  that,  this 
accomplished,  he  might  lay  aside  the  mitre  and  return  once  more 
to  the  ranks  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  from  which,  much  to  his 
sorrow,  he  had  been  raised  to  the  episcopacy.  On  November  3rd, 
he  departed  for  Panama,  having,  as  companion,  Father  Aloysius 
Bosco  of  Santa  Clara,  a  fluent  speaker  of  Spanish,  a  Father  who 
had  some  years  previously  made  a  similar  journey  in  the  inter- 
ests of  Santa  Clara  College. 

The  fair  mentioned  in  Father  Bayma's  letter  took  place  in 
December.  It  began  on  the  nth  and  was  to  have  lasted  for  two 
weeks.  Continued  and  heavy  rain,  however,  caused  its  inter- 
ruption, so  that  it  was  again  resumed  on  the  26th  of  the  month 
and  finished  about  the  end  of  the  year.  Its  success,  owing  to  the 
inclement  weather,  was  not  remarkable,  and  it  was  the  last  under- 
taken under  the  auspices  of  the  Fathers. 

1872. 
During  the  Lent  of  1872,  the  practical  zeal  of  Father  Messea 
gave  birth  to  a  work  humble  indeed  in  appearance,  but  productive 


ST.    IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         173 

of  abundant  and  solid  fruit :  the  evening  catechetical  instruc- 
tion given  in  our  church.  He  had  noticed  that  numbers  of  peo- 
ple nightly  frequented  the  church  to  offer  up  their  prayers  before 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  and  the  altar  of  our  Blessed  Mother,  and 
the  thought  came  to  him  that  it  could  not  but  be  pleasing  to 
the  Divine  Master,  if  all,  in  common,  should  gather  around  the 
altar  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  recite  her  rosary,  and  listen  to  a  plain 
and  simple  exposition  of  the  duties  of  a  Christian  life.  He  pro- 
posed the  matter  to  Superiors,  received  their  approval,  and 
inaugurated  the  pious  custom  which  has  come  down  in  uninter- 
rupted succession  to  our  own  times,  destined,  we  are  confident, 
to  perpetuity.  He  had  soon  several  hundred  people  in  attendance, 
every  night,  and  when  he  suggested  that  it  would  be  well  to 
hang  a  lamp  before  our  Lady's  statue  and  keep  it  ever  burning, 
his  suggestion  was  readily  taken  up,  and,  in  a  night  or  two,  he 
was  able  to  announce  that  willing  contributions  had  supplied  him 
with  the  needed  funds. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  Father  Ponte  having  been  recalled 
to  Italy,  left  California.  Father  Congiato  accompanied  him  to 
the  Eastern  States  and  Father  Masnata  temporarily  replaced 
him  as  Superior  of  the  Mission. 

The  pupils  of  the  college,  this  year,  reached  a  total  of  six 
hundred,  and  in  a  literary  exhibition  on  June  3rd,  and  a  scien- 
tific one,  two  evenings  later,  showed  that  the  encomiums  passed 
upon  the  faculty  by  A.  H.  Loughborough,  Esq.,  in  his  address, 
were  amply  merited.  Piety,  moreover,  flourished  no  less  than 
zeal  for  study,  as  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  members  of  the 
Students'  Sodality  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  and  the  one 
hundred  and  fifty  members  of  the  Holy  Angels'  Sodality  were 
eloquent  witnesses.  Father  Prelato,  the  director  of  both,  might 
well  feel  assured  that  Almighty  God  had  blessed  his  patient 
labor.  The  Jesuit  portion  of  the  faculty  this  year  remained 
almost  unchanged,  the  only  addition  being  that  of  Mr.  Joseph 
Sasia,  who  returned  as  professor  of  classics  and  English.  By 
a  strange  error,  the  catalogue  of  the  Turin  Province,  assigns 
him  to  Santa  Clara  this  year,  just  as  it  assigned  him  to 
St.  Ignatius  last  year.  Probably  in  seeking  to  correct  the  old 
mistake,  the  compiler  of  the  catalogue  fell  into  the  new. 


174  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

On  June  30th,  before  a  large  congregation  of  friends,  in 
a  church  in  which  for  many  years  he  had  taken  up  the  collec- 
tion at  late  mass  and  at  vespers,  and  at  whose  altar  rails,  as  a 
devout  Sodalist,  he  had  constantly  knelt,  Father  Thomas 
Leonard  celebrated  his  first  mass.  He  had  been  ordained  priest 
on  the  24th  of  the  month,  the  Feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
by  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Alemany.  He  was  at  this  time 
over  fifty-one  years  of  age,  and  had,  as  server  at  his  mass,  his 
son  Francis,  a  young  man  of  twenty-six,  a  Jesuit  professor 
at  Santa  Clara  College.  But  half  a  century  sat  lightly  on  the 
shoulders  of  Father  Thomas,  who  afterwards,  for  over  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  did  a  yeoman's  work  in  the  spiritual  fields  of 
California,  dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-three,  on  the  26th  day  of 
June,   1904,  at  Santa  Clara. 

The  first  of  July  sprang  a  surprise  on  the  Fathers  of  St. 
Ignatius  and  the  inhabitants  of  San  Francisco.  A  steamer 
from  Central  American  ports  landed  on  our  shores  a  band  of 
thirty-nine  Capuchins  and  eight  Dominicans.  They  had  come 
from  Guatemala,  whence  the  revolutionary  Government  had 
expelled  them  without  warning,  without  means  of  subsistence, 
without  giving  them  an  opportunity  to  plan  a  place  of  refuge, 
violating  the  most  sacred  rights  of  humanity  in  the  name  of 
humanity.  The  Dominican  Fathers  of  our  city,  immediately 
with  the  utmost  charity,  received  the  members  of  their  own 
Order,  seeking  by  the  warmth  of  welcome  to  make  them  forget 
the  privations  and  sufferings  through  which  they  had  passed. 
The  Capuchins  were  gladly  received  by  St.  Ignatius,  which 
did  all  that  was  possible,  under  the  circumstances,  to  afford  the 
necessary  comforts  to  the  exiles  and  assuage  their  bitter  sor- 
rows. Comforts,  perhaps,  we  should  not  have  said,  for  these 
saintly  men  with  bearded  faces  and  coarse  brown  habits,  with 
sandaled  feet  and  shaven  heads,  were  men  emaciated  by  the 
constant  mortifications  imposed  by  their  holy  rule,  rather  than 
by  those  of  a  tedious  sea  voyage;  and  nature  in  them  accus- 
tomed to  subjection,  viewed  as  luxuries,  what  others  would 
have  considered  scarcely  the  necessaries  of  life.  They  were 
strangers  in  a  city  which  had  been  named  after  their  holy 
founder,  St.  Francis,  and  which,  at  Dolores,  had  been  estab- 
lished by  a  branch  of  their  own  illustrious  Order.     For  one  of 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         175 

them,  however,  the  exile  of  life  was  nearly  over.  Sufferings  of 
mind  and  body  had  made  serious  inroads  on  his  health,  and 
he  was  removed  to  St.  Mary's  Hospital.  Could  loving  care 
have  fanned  into  flame  the  spark  of  life,  that  bestowed  upon 
him  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  would  assuredly  have  been  re- 
warded with  success;  but  the  Lord  had  chosen  him  for  a  better 
life,  and  on  July  4th,  his  spirit  passed  away.  His  name  in 
religion  was  Father  Francis  of  Bassost.  On  Saturday,  July 
6th,  the  body  was  brought  to  our  church  and  placed  upon  the 
bier  prepared  for  it.  Around  were  gathered  the  Fathers  and 
Brothers  who  had  loved  the  departed  in  life,  and  whose 
moistened  eyes  told  without  concealment,  of  the  pain  of  separa- 
tion. The  Office  for  the  Dead  was  recited  in  the  presence  of 
His  Grace,  Archbishop  Alemany,  who  had  come  to  preside  at 
the  obsequies  and  chant  a  Solemn  Mass  for  the  repose  of  Father 
Francis'  soul.  Such  of  the  Dominican  exiles  as  had  remained 
in  the  city,  with  others  of  their  Order,  came  to  pay  the  last 
tokens  of  respect  and  affection;  the  secular  clergy  sent  its  rep- 
resentatives; the  Fathers  of  the  college  whom  duty  did  not 
call  elsewhere,  assisted  in  the  sanctuary;  and  the  church  could 
not  contain  the  crowds  of  the  faithful  who  came  to  show  honor 
to  the  memory  of  one  whom  they  rightly  considered  to  have 
given  his  life  for  the  faith.  After  the  mass,  the  people  filed  past, 
to  touch  the  body  with  their  rosaries  and  prayer-books;  and 
noon  had  already  arrived  before  their  devotion  was  satisfied. 
The  burial  took  place  at  Calvary  Cemetery,  Lone  Mountain, 
one  of  the  exiled  Dominicans  reciting  the  prayers  at  the  grave 
for  him  who  had  so  happily  ended  the  sufferings  of  time. 

But,  we  are  certain  that  our  readers  would  prefer  the  account 
of  these  occurrences  from  the  pen  of  one  of  the  exiles,  Rev. 
Father  Ignatius  of  Cambrils,  in  his  "Chronicle  of  the  Mission 
of  the  Capuchin  Fathers  in  Central  America." 

"We  arrived  safely,"  he  says,  "in  the  harbor  of  San  Fran- 
cisco and  landed  on  July  1st.  But  before  disembarking,  Father 
Guardian  Fra  Sigismund  de  Mataro,  accompanied  by  another 
Father,  entered  this  populous  city,  and  after  a  brief  visit  to  the 
Archiepiscopal  residence  (the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop  was 
absent)  hastened  to  the  college  of  the  Reverend  Jesuit  Fathers, 


176  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

who  no  sooner  heard  our  sad  story  than,  pitying  us,  they 
answered  that  'not  only  for  some  of  us,  but  that  for  all  would 
there  be  willing  hospitality ;  that  all  of  us  should  make  our  home 
with  them,  for  we  were  all  brothers  in  Christ,  our  Lord.'  Father 
Guardian  returned  highly  edified,  and  presently  all  of  us,  thirty- 
nine  Capuchins,  seeing  the  care  that  Divine  Providence  had  for 
its  servants,  started  straight  for  this  charitable  college,  the 
Fathers  of  which  received  us  with  the  greatest  sympathy  for 
our  misfortunes,  and  with  equal  love  and  cordiality,  just  as 
if  we  had  been  so  many  other  Jesuits;  offering  their  services 
to  us  generously  as  long  as  we  needed  them — I  should  rather 
say  as  long  as  we  wished  to  use  them."  "Soon  after,"  remarks 
his  commentator,  "thirty-six  out  of  the  thirty-nine  of  us  fell 
sick.  And  in  these  sad  circumstances  the  brotherly  affection 
of  the  Jesuit  Fathers  was  much  to  be  admired.  The  Fathers 
and  Brothers  served  us  with  the  care  of  skilled  nurses."  But 
to  return  to  the  chronicle  of  Father  Ignatius — "And  in  order 
that  we  might  enjoy  greater  comfort  and  convenience,  after 
a  few  days  of  rest,  they  divided  our  numbers  between  the  two 
large  colleges  of  San  Francisco  and  Santa  Clara,  which  latter 
place  is  distant  from  the  former  about  four  hours  by  rail.  In 
Santa  Clara,  several  of  the  Brothers  took  the  Solemn  Profession, 
and  on  this  occasion  the  Jesuit  Fathers  made  for  us  a  most 
solemn  feast.  Thus,  in  the  company  of  these  good  Fathers,  we 
remained  up  to  the  middle  of  September,  always  treated,  re- 
spected, and  looked  upon  as  so  many  members  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus.  Seeing  that  we,  by  ourselves,  could  never  worthily 
repay  this  veneration  and  love,  our  Father  Guardian  wrote,  after 
a  time,  to  our  Most  Reverend  Father  General,  that  he  in  person 
might  return  thanks  to  the  Reverend  Father  General  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus  in  Rome.  This  our  Most  Reverend  Father 
did  with  much  pleasure,  both  in  our  name  and  in  that  of  the 
whole  Capuchin  Order,  not  indeed  in  person,  for  he  was  un- 
able to  do  so,  but  by  means  of  a  Most  Reverend  Father  Defini- 
tor  General  in  his  name.  To  whom,  to  cap  the  climax,  or  as  a 
finishing  touch  to  so  charitable  a  work  and  adding  to  it  new 
luster,  the  General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  answered,  'That  to 
God  belonged  these  thanks,  since  his  subjects,  the  Jesuits  of 
California,  had  only  done  what  they  ought  to  have  done  for  the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         177 

exiled  Capuchins  of  Guatemala.'  Ah!  Truly  enchanting  is 
the  sight  of  the  many  beautiful  and  varied  splendors  with  which 
the  sweet  charity  of  the  School  of  Jesus  Christ  presents  itself 
to  our  eyes!" 

"And  here  it  is  apropos  to  add,"  he  says,  in  another  place, 
"that  the  founder  of  our  Order  in  those  lands  (Central  America), 
Father  Francis  of  Bassost  by  name,  had  scarcely  reached  the 
place  whither  our  expulsion  from  Old  Guatemala,  where  he  had 
laid  the  foundation  stones  of  our  establishment,  was  to  bear  us, 
than  he  passed  presently  from  this  world  to  the  arms  of  our 
Heavenly  Father.  Four  days  after  our  arrival  in  San  Francisco, 
California,  he  departed  from  this  land  of  exile,  this  valley  of 
tears,  peacefully  dying  in  the  Lord.  With  much  solemnity,  and 
the  attendance  of  a  great  concourse  of  people,  the  body  present, 
his  funeral  was  held  in  the  church  of  our  benefactors,  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  of  that  city.  After  the  chanting  of  the  office  for  the 
dead,  canticles  of  sorrow  and  mournful  voices,  which  were  very 
appropriately  accompanied  by  the  religious  and  touching  strains 
of  the  deep-toned  organ,  began  to  resound  within  these  sacred 
walls. 

At  the  holy  altar,  surrounded  by  his  assistants,  officiated  the 
Most  Reverend  Joseph  Alemany,  Archbishop  of  the  city,  who 
wished  to  offer  to  the  Eternal  Father,  for  the  soul  of  our  departed 
Brother,  the  acceptable  sacrifice  of  our  redemption.  From  the 
sacred  pulpit  came  the  clear  voice  of  Rev.  Father  Barchi,  S.  J.,  a 
member  of  the  college,  who  preached  the  funeral  oration  in  praise 
of  the  deceased,  while  the  Fathers  of  the  Jesuit  community  sat 
ranged  around  the  sanctuary,  and  some  six  Dominican  Fathers 
and  we  Capuchins  sat  in  the  church,  just  outside  the  altar  rails, 
as  mourners  gathered  around  the  body  of  the  dead.  Funeral 
truly  solemn,  truly  tender  and  devout !  Funeral  whose  solemnity, 
with  an  increase  of  new  tenderness  and  admirable  devotedness, 
received  its  fitting  complement  when,  unasked  by  us,  a  multitude 
of  carriages  of  kind-hearted  persons,  pitying  the  departed  septua- 
genarian recently  arrived,  victim  of  an  impious  expulsion, 
wished  to  accompany  to  the  cemetery  of  San  Francisco  the  body 
of  our  Brother  Capuchin,  the  founder  of  our  Order  in  Guatemala, 
a  man  full  of  zeal  for  the  strict  observance  of  our  holy  rule, 
to  whose  soul  may  God  grant  rest!    Amen." 


178  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

On  their  arrival  in  the  city,  the  Capuchin  exiles  published 
the  following  statement: 

"the  exiled  capuchins. 
On  the  30th  of  June,  1871,  the  present  provisional  Govern- 
ment took  possession  of  the  capital  of  Guatemala.  From  that 
day  it  became  well  known  that  their  purpose  was  to  make  away 
with  everything  that  would  give  religious  support  to  the  Catho- 
lic population. 

THE     FIRST     BLOW 

was  to  banish  from  the  country  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  who  had 
there  a  flourishing  college.  More  than  20,000  citizens  signed  a 
protest  against  such  an  arbitrary  and  despotic  robbery  perpe- 
trated in  the  name  of  liberty,  and  petitioned  to  have  the  insti- 
tution left  undisturbed  as  a  paramount  necessity  for  the  people. 
But  they  found  no  hearing,  and  that  self-styled  Government, 
trampling  on  the  will  of  the  people  and  on  every  law  of  justice, 
kept  its  oath  of  destruction,  and  on  the  3rd  of  October,  187 1, 
exiled  from  the  Republic  the  learned  and  pious  Society  of  Jesus, 
which  for  twenty  years  had  been  laboring  in  the  pulpit  and  in 
the  school  for  the  cause  of  public  morality  and  education.  But 
that  was  not  enough; 

ANOTHER     STEP     IN     THE     NAME    OF     LIBERTY 

was  to  send  into  exile  two  venerable  prelates,  the  Archbishop 
and  a  Bishop  of  Guatemala,  repeating  the  old  exploded  calumny 
that  they  were  opposed  to  the  liberty  of  the  country.  In  every 
case,  church  and  private  property  were  confiscated.  On  the  28th 
of  August,  it  was  rumored  at  Antigua  that  the  Chief  of  Police 
had  received  orders  to  drive  away,  on  that  very  night,  the 
Capuchin  friars,  whose  convent  had  been  established  in  the  city 
twenty  years  ago;  but  forthwith  more  than  5,000  people  came 
forward  and  declared  that,  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  they  would 
never  allow  the  good  friars  to  be  taken  away.  At  this  time  the 
Government  dared  not  go  further.  But,  although  this  very  Gov- 
ernment asserted  in  its  proclamation  that  it  had  never  been 
intended  to  touch  the  Capuchins,  yet  the  citizens  were  always  in 
an  alarming  expectancy.  Almost  every  night  they  patroled  the 
surrounding  streets,  and  kept  watch  in  the  rear  of  the  convent 
until  they  heard  the  usual  midnight  prayer  bell,  by  which  they 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH   AND    COLLEGE         179 

understood  that  nothing  new  had  happened.  But  as,  in  the  name 
of  liberty  and  progress,  men  of  this  communistic  kind  never  desist 
from  the  pursuit  of  their  fiendish  object,  at  last  the  time  arrived 
when  the  rights  of  the  people  were  outraged  and  trampled  upon 
in  the  sacred  name  of  liberty.  So,  on  the  7th  of  last  June,  the 
Government  issued  an  order  of  the  following  tenor :  'For  reasons 
of  a  high  political  nature,  the  Supreme  Provisional  Government 
has  resolved  upon 

THE    EXPULSION     OF    THE    CAPUCHIN     FATHERS 

of  Antigua.  To-day  (Friday)  a  military  force  has  been  sent 
from  this  capital,  with  orders  to  take  them  away  from  that  city 
and  drive  them  to  the  frontier  of  Mexico.'  It  was  about  half- 
past  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  day  appointed,  when 
Colonel  V.  Trungaray  appeared  at  the  convent  with  the  soldiers, 
and  presented,  by  verbal  message,  the  order  of  expulsion,  leaving 
no  more  than  one  hour's  time  for  the  Fathers  to  take  their 
departure  from  the  convent.  They  begged  him  to  tell,  at  least, 
in  what  direction  they  were  to  be  taken,  but  he  would  give  no 
answer. 

Having  learned  from  some  among  the  soldiers  that  the  march 
was  ordered  to  the  Mexican  frontier,  they  protested  against  such 
inhuman  violence,  and  asked  to  be  taken  to  the  seaport  of  San 
Jose  de  Guatemala,  in  order  that  they  might  pass  thence  to  their 
convents  in  Europe.  But  the  petition  was  not  heeded.  At 
9 :30  p.  m.  the  Capuchin  Fathers  were 

FORCED    FROM    THEIR    OWN    CONVENT, 

and  between  two  rows  of  bayonets  were  taken  to  the  old  Munici- 
pal Palace,  followed  by  the  people,  who  rilled  the  streets  with 
cries  and  lamentations  at  seeing  their  venerable  and  beloved 
Fathers  thus  dragged  from  them.  At  10  o'clock  the  thirty-nine 
exiles  entered  the  old  palace,  where  all  the  accommodation  they 
were  allowed  for  passing  the  night  was  an  unfurnished  hall,  with 
nothing  to  lie  upon  save  its  bare  tile  floor.  The  citizens,  however, 
showed  now  more  than  ever,  the  affection  they  had  for  their  bene- 
factors, and  brought  them  various  articles  of  food  and  raiment, 
and  alms  for  the  journey.  On  the  8th  of  June,  at  8  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  the  order  to  march  was  given.  It  would  be  impos- 
sible to  describe  the  tears  and  wailings  of  the  populace  when  it 


180  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

saw  itself  so  brutally  robbed  of  its  friends  and  consolers, 
who  had  exposed  their  very  lives  for  it  during  the  epi- 
demic of  1857,  and  given  the  example  of  every  Christian  virtue. 
About  1  o'clock,  the  Capuchins  arrived  at  Chemaltenango, 
accompanied  by  two  hundred  men,  the  rest  having  gone  back  to 
Antigua  to  maintain  order.  Seeing  that  the  march  was  through 
a  deserted  region  to  the  frontier  of  Mexico,  the  Spanish  Consul 
and  other  gentlemen  remonstrated  with  the  Government,  and 
obtained  that  the  exiles  should  be  taken  to  the  seaport  of 
Champerico,  but  only  on  condition  that  they  should  embark  for 
San  Francisco,  California,  so  that  they  might  not  stop  at  any 
port  of  Central  America.  This  is  why  the  thirty-nine  Capuchins 
are  now  in  this  city.  By  such  an  expulsion  the  revolutionary 
Government  has  lost  much  credit  in  the  opinion  even  of  those 
that  were  favorable  of  it.  It  is  evident  to  all,  that  it  was  a  piece 
of  meanness  and  despotism  against  a  few  peaceable  men,  who 
had  never  meddled  in  anything  political.  In  a  journey  of  a  day 
and  a  half,  they  could  have  been  taken  to  the  port  of  San  Jose 
de  Guatemala;  but  no,  they  were  made  to  march  for  eight  days 
to  Champerico,  by  bad  roads,  wretchedly  mounted,  several  of 
them  very  sick  and  infirm,  and  led  through  the  largest  towns,  at 
Solata,  Totonicatan,  Solcaja,  Tueraltenango  and  Retalulen. 
Three  nights  only  had  they  some  rest  at  the  parochial  residences. 
Up  to  the  last  moment,  Colonel  Trungaray  assured  us  that  the 
Government  would  pay  our  passage  on  the  steamer ;  but  the  fact 
proved  the  contrary.  It  was  the  charity  of  the  good  people  that 
took  pity  on  the  poor  Capuchins.  We  offer  thanks  to  all  those 
who  voluntarily  contributed  to  our  relief,  both  in  Antigua  and 
in  other  cities,  and  who  showed  us  such  great  and  heartfelt  affec- 
tion. And,  lastly,  we  thank  very  much  the  Jesuit  Fathers  of 
this  city,  who,  with  so  great  charity,  have  received  us  into  their 
college." 

It  was  indeed  a  new,  but  edifying  sight  to  see  these  brown 
forms  prostrate  in  the  sanctuary,  or  with  arms  extended  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  assisting  at  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  mass.  It 
was  a  novel  sight  to  see  religious  habits  and  cowled  heads  pass- 
ing along  the  thoroughfares  of  San  Francisco,  but  the  city 
treated  the  Religious  with  the  utmost  respect,  and  though  many  a 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         181 

curious  glance  was  cast,  no  word  of  disrespect  was  ever  uttered. 
Humor,  however,  is  seldom  totally  absent  even  from  what  is 
most  grave  and  serious,  and  it  was  hard  sometimes  to  repress  a 
smile  when  some  tender-hearted  daughter  of  Erin,  ignorant  of 
the  strict  Capuchin  rule,  and  considering  that  the  bare  feet  pro- 
tected only  by  sandals,  was  the  result  of  the  extremity  of  pov- 
erty which  prevented  the  Religious  from  buying  shoes,  offered  an 
alms  to  enable  the  holy  men  to  obtain  what  she  considered  indis- 
pensable articles. 

On  the  nth  of  July,  some  twenty  of  the  Religious  accepted 
the  hospitality  of  Santa  Clara  College,  whose  retirement  was  bet- 
ter suited  to  the  younger  members  of  the  community;  for  there 
were  several  students  and  even  a  novice  priest  among  the  exiles. 
Here,  in  the  old  Franciscan  walls  and  in  the  Mission  Church,  they 
could  well  observe  their  monastic  rule,  and  bring  back  to  life, 
scenes  that  had  lain  buried  for  many  decades  of  years. 

As  there  was  no  opening  for  the  community  in  the  archdio- 
cese, and  as  its  members  were  utterly  destitute  of  the  means  of 
going  elsewhere,  the  charitable  of  the  city  began  to  devise  ways 
and  means  of  raising  money  to  assist  them.  It  was  decided  to 
hold  a  fair  at  the  City  Gardens  on  August  8th,  9th  and  iotfi. 
The  project  was  a  grand  success,  some  $12,000,  it  is  said,  being 
the  result. 

The  Daily  Evening  Post,  edited  by  Henry  George,  gave  on 
Wednesday,  August  7th,  a  brief  synopsis  of  the  programme. 

"the  exiled  friars. 
The  grand  picnic,  to  be  given  in  aid  of  the  exiled  friars, 
will  be  gotten  up  on  a  scale  to  exceed  anything  else  of  the  kind 
that  has  been  given  in  this  city  for  a  long  time.  At  10  a.  m. 
Thursday,  Rev.  Brother  Justin  of  St.  Mary's  College  will  deliver 
an  address  to  the  exiled  clergy.  During  the  course  of  the  festi- 
val, addresses  will  be  delivered  by  the  Hon.  J.  M.  Burnett, 
Hon.  Tyler  Curtis,  Judge  Hastings  and  John  Hamill,  Esq. 
Thursday  evening  a  grand  vocal  and  instrumental  concert  will 
be  given.  Friday  evening  will  be  devoted  to  short  addresses. 
Saturday  evening  the  poem  of  the  occasion  will  be  read  by  its 
author,  R.  C.  Hopkins,  Esq.,  and  will  be  followed  by  the  draw- 
ing of  prizes.     After  the  literary  exercises  of  each  evening,  a 


1 82  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

grand  ball  will  be  given."  Everything  was  carried  out  success- 
fully as  planned. 

Thus  supplied  with  means  of  travel,  the  Capuchin  Superiors 
set  about  arranging  for  the  journey  eastward.  On  August  22nd, 
three  members  of  the  Community  departed  with  Mr.  Vincent 
Testa,  S.  J.,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Woodstock,  Maryland,  to 
take  up  the  study  of  theology.  Their  destination  was  the 
Capuchin  Monastery,  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  On  September 
13th,  a  large  portion  of  the  exiled  Religious  came  from  Santa 
Clara  to  take  part  in  the  Solemn  Mass  of  Thanksgiving  to  be 
offered  on  the  following  day.  The  mass  was  celebrated  by 
Father  Sigismund  of  Mataro,  Guardian  and  Commissary  Gen- 
eral; Father  Augustine  of  Llusanes,  Com.  of  the  Third  Order 
of  St.  Francis,  was  deacon;  one  of  the  Dominican  exiles  was 
subdeacon.  The  church  was  packed  to  the  very  doors  with 
people  sorry  to  part  with  those  who  had  been  a  source  of  so  much 
edification  during  their  stay  among  us.  On  the  evening  of  the 
15th,  the  last  of  those  who  had  remained  in  Santa  Clara  joined 
their  brethren,  and  at  dawn  on  the  16th  all  departed,  as  much 
to  their  own  regret,  as  to  that  of  the  Fathers  and  of  the  city, 
for  affection  had  grown  deep  and  mutual.  To  journey  to  the 
East  they  had  been  supplied  with  secular  clothes,  though  many 
of  the  good  Religious  felt  in  them  like  David  in  Saul's  armor. 
The  older  members,  too,  who,  from  youth,  had  never  laid  aside 
their  sacred  habit,  required  much  persuasion  to  induce  them  to 
put  it  off.  Obedience,  however,  sweetened  the  pangs  of  sacri- 
fice, though  many  wept  as  they  laid  that  aside  for  love  of  which 
they  had  abandoned  home  and  country,  and  borne  the  sorrows 
of  exile. 

On  the  14th  of  the  month,  the  day  on  which  the  Mass  of 
Thanksgiving  was  celebrated,  the  Father  Guardian  published  in 
the  daily  papers  the  following : 

"card  of  thanks. 

the   exiled   friars   to   the   catholics   of   san    francisco. 

St.  Ignatius  College,  Sept.   14th,   1872. 

On  the  eve  of  our  departure  from  the  hospitable  shores  of 

California,  I  feel  in  duty  bound  to  address  in  my  name,  as  well 

as  in  that  of  the  religious  Community  of  the  Capuchin  Friars, 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         183 

exiled  by  the  present  revolutionary  Government  of  Guatemala, 
as  likewise  in  the  name  of  the  Dominican  Fathers,  a  parting  fare- 
well to  all  the  good  citizens  of  San  Francisco,  who,  during  our 
sojourn  in  their  midst,  have  never  ceased  to  give  us  the  most 
splendid  testimonies  of  Christian  sympathy.  Words  fall  short 
of  expressing  our  admiration  for  the  religious  spirit  by  which 
the  Catholics  of  California  are  animated,  and  our  gratitude  for 
all  the  many  favors  bestowed  on  us  by  them.  Indeed,  our  hearts 
were  far  from  anticipating  the  kind  and  generous  reception  we 
have  met  with  in  this  land  of  true  freedom.  Poor  and  strangers, 
and  with  no  other  title  to  your  sympathies  than  the  fact  of  being 
the  sufferers  in  the  cause  of  God  and  religion,  we  were,  beyond 
our  merits  and  expectations,  greeted  by  you  with  friendly  love. 
We  heard,  from  your  lips,  words  of  consolation  and  hope,  and 
saw  the  hands  of  the  rich  and  the  poor,  open  to  aid  us  in  our  des- 
titution. Yes,  in  your  midst,  Catholics  of  San  Francisco,  we 
forgot  for  awhile  the  sadness  of  exile,  the  hardships  of  a  long 
journey,  and  the  uncertainties  of  a  gloomy  future.  We  saw  many 
eyes  moistened  with  tears  of  pity  and  compassion  for  us,  and 
we,  too,  raised  to  Heaven  our  eyes  moistened  with  tears  of  joy 
to  bless  the  Father  above,  whose  loving  providence  never  ceases 
to  watch  over  his  children. 

Were  it  in  our  power,  we  would  gladly  consecrate  our  lives 
and  labors  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  Catholic  community  of 
this  city.  But  circumstances  beyond  our  control  compel  us  to 
leave  this  land,  where  we  have  been  witnesses  of  such  tender 
piety  and  such  generous  charity.  Whithersoever  it  shall  please 
Divine  Providence  to  call  us,  we  shall  never  forget  the  numerous 
demonstrations  of  your  kind  sympathy.  Wherever  we  shall  find 
a  home,  there  shall  we  tell  of  your  Christian  fervor  and  your 
generous  hospitality;  and  we  shall  add  that,  while  in  the  name 
of  religion  you  came  to  the  aid  of  the  poor  exiled  friars  of 
Guatemala,  in  the  name  of  liberty  you  have  protested  against 
the  despotism  of  those  who  usurp  its  sacred  name  to  mask  their 
wicked  deeds  of  tyranny. 

Catholics  of  San  Francisco  and  California,  you  have  our 
deep  admiration,  our  heartfelt  thanks  and  our  fervent  prayers. 
Gladly  would  we  know  the  names  of  all  our  benefactors  and 
hand  them  down  to  the  gratitude  of  posterity.     But  this  is 


1 84  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

not  in  our  power.  We  shall  limit  ourselves  to  mentioning  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  whose  guests  we  have  been  for  two  months  and 
a  half,  and  who  have  lavished  on  us  their  tenderest  care.  To 
the  others  we  shall  confidently  say  that  their  names  are  written 
in  the  hands  and  in  the  heart  of  that  God  who  receives  as 
done  to  himself  what  is  done  in  behalf  of  his  suffering  servants. 

Father  Sigismund  of  Mataro, 
Guardian  of  the  Convent  of  Guatemala." 

That  the  gratitude  and  affection  of  these  noble  hearts  did 
not  pass  with  the  hour  of  sorrow  and  affliction,  the  following 
letter  sent  from  Europe  by  Brother  Joseph  Calasanctius  to 
Father  Charles  Pollano  and  his  Jesuit  pupils,  will  bear  most 
affectionate  testimony. 

"Toulouse,  Tan.  20th,  1873. 
Rev.  Father  C.  Pollano  and  Messrs.  O' Sullivan,  Driscoll  and 
Crowley,  S.  J.: 

Since,  dearest  Fathers  and  Brothers  in  Christ,  I  can  never 
forget  you,  I  write  to  you  that  you  may  clearly  see  that 
although  separated  from  you  in  body,  I  am  nevertheless  united 
with  you  in  soul,  as  you  have  indeed  earnestly  requested  me 
that  I  should  be.  Moved  by  this  thought,  I  realize  that  I  am 
in  duty  bound  to  let  you  know  where  Divine  Providence  has 
destined  that   I   should  remain. 

You  must  know,  therefore,  that  when  we  reached  Milwau- 
kee, the  choice  was  left  to  each  of  us,  either  of  remaining  in  the 
United  States  or  of  proceeding  to  France.  As  I  found  that 
the  climate  did  not  better  my  health  but  rather  proved  detri- 
mental to  it,  I  preferred  (after  having  taken  counsel  with  some 
of  the  Fathers)  to  go  to  the  monasteries  of  France.  Hence, 
after  a  most  pleasant  journey,  we  reached  that  of  Toulouse, 
where  Holy  Obedience  has  arranged  that  I  remain  to  continue 
my  studies.  I  hope,  with  the  grace  of  God,  soon  to  recover 
my  health  perfectly,  for  even  now  I  am  able  to  study  with  my 
fellow  students,  with  whom,  under  the  guidance  of  Father  Igna- 
tius, I  am  striving  to  finish  philosophy. 

Dear  friends  in  Christ,  I  sincerely  confess  that  I  can  never 
think  or  speak  of  you  without  tears  coming  unbidden  to  my 
eyes.    I  would  that  to  you  and  to  all  your  Brothers,  I   could 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         185 

express  my  gratitude  and  that  of  all  my  Brothers;  but  this  is 
for  me  an  impossibility.  Accept,  therefore,  these  flowers  of 
our  Lady  of  La  Salette,  and  recognize  that  in  them  my  heart 
and  those  of  my  brethren  are  enclosed. 

Remember  me,  I  beseech  you,  in  your  prayers,  as  these 
my  Brothers  and  yours  who  dwell  with  me,  remember  you; 
I,  also,  neither  forget  nor  ever  shall  forget  you  in  my  prayers, 
humble  though  they  be. 

Permit  me  to  inform  you  that,  on  December  21st,  we 
received  the  tonsure  and  the  four  Minor  Orders  from  our 
Archbishop. 

Fra  Joachim,  my  Brother,  who  is  in  the  monastery  at  Cereti, 
most  affectionately  salutes  you,  as  do  Rev.  Father  Sigismund, 
and  Father  Lector,  with  Brothers  Balthasar,  Xavier,  Desiderius, 
Alexis,  Isidore  and  Firminus. 

In  conclusion,  salute  all  your  Brothers,  and,  more  especially, 
Reverend  Father  Superior  and  Father  Rector;  Father  Brunengo 
and  the  Master  of  Novices;  Brother  Thomas  and  the  Infirm- 
arian;  as  your  most  affectionate  servant  and  brother  in  Christ 
salutes  you. 

Fra  Joseph  Calasanctius  a  Llevaneras,  O.  M.  C." 

God  had  His  own  designs  in  permitting  that  the  impiety 
of  the  revolutionists  of  Guatemala  should  seem  to  triumph  for 
the  moment;  religion's  loss  in  their  country  was  the  universal 
Church's  gain.  To  say  nothing  of  the  eminent  services  of 
others,  we  shall  speak  of  those  rendered  their  Order  by  three — 
Brothers  Balthasar,  Joachim  and  the  writer  of  the  letter.  Soon 
after  his  ordination  Father  Balthasar  was,  in  1876,  sent  as  Su- 
perior with  nine  companions  to  establish  his  Order  in  Equador. 
This  he  successfully  accomplished,  was  named  Commissary 
General  of  those  parts,  founded  many  convents  and  governed 
holily  for  over  nine  years,  dying  later  a  victim  of  charity  in 
Panama.  Father  Joachim  was  one  of  the  nine  that  accom- 
panied Father  Balthasar  on  his  Equadorean  expedition. 
Recalled  to  Europe,  he  was,  by  the  Holy  See,  created  Commis- 
sary Apostolic  of  his  Order  in  Spain.  He  found  matters  ruined 
by  revolution  and  persecution,  but  his  powerful  mind  and 
energetic    character    brought    order    out    of    chaos,    and    his 


1 86  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

brethren  so  flourished  under  his  government,  that  he  not  only 
organized  and  built  up  one  Province,  but  so  numerous  had  its 
establishments  become,  that  he  was  obliged  out  of  the  one  Prov- 
ince to  form  three.  He  founded  the  great  Seraphic  School  of 
Montehano,  the  convents  of  Olot,  Olleria,  and  Bilbao;  the  resi- 
dences of  Madrid  and  Barcelona;  the  Missions  of  the  Carolinas, 
Columbia  and  Equador;  and  the  residence  in  Manila. 

But  most  illustrious  of  all,  has  become  the  humble  Toulouse 
correspondent  of  the  Jesuits  of  Santa  Clara.  Even  before 
ordination  he  begged  and  was  granted  the  Mission  of  Equador, 
but  weak  health  compelled  him  to  return  to  France.  Ordained 
a  priest,  on  May  26th,  1877,  he  soon  became  Father  Guardian 
of  the  Convent  of  Perpignan.  Expelled  from  France  in  1880, 
he  went  to  Spain,  his  native  land.  Here,  in  1882,  he  was  selected 
by  Father  Joachim,  his  brother,  as  special  assistant;  and,  in  1884, 
went  with  him  to  Rome  on  important  affairs  of  the  Order. 
So  marked  was  his  success  in  the  matters  confided  to  his  pru- 
dence that  he  was  retained  in  the  Holy  City.  His  talents  soon 
became  known  to  Pope  Leo  XIII,  who  added  honor  to  honor, 
until,  bestowing  upon  him  the  Roman  purple,  the  Holy  Father 
made  him  Cardinal  Vives  y  Tuto,  Joseph  Calasanctius  of  St. 
Adrian.  Asked  for  his  portrait  for  this  volume,  His  Eminence 
not  only  graciously  granted  the  request  but  sent  the  "Chronicle 
of  Father  Ignatius,"  which  he  himself  had  annotated  and  edited, 
as  also  a  copy  of  the  "Analecta  Ordinis  Minorum  Capuccinorum," 
containing  a  sketch  of  his  life.  And,  as  even  all  this  kindness 
did  not  satisfy  his  generous  heart,  with  his  own  hand  he  wrote 
at  the  bottom  of  his  photograph  the  gracious  message: 

"A  los  RR.  PP.  Jesuitas  de  California,  hermanos  carisimos 
y  bienhechores  insignes  de  los  Capuchinos. 

Fr.   J.    C,    Card.  Vives." 

"To  the  Reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  of  California,  most  dear 
brothers  and  worthy  benefactors  of  the  Capuchins. 

Fr.   Joseph   Calasanctius, 

Cardinal  Vives." 

Sweet,  indeed,  are  the  memories  that  will  ever  cluster 
around  the  names  of  the  barefooted  exiles  who,  in  1872,  blessed 
St.  Ignatius  and  Santa  Clara  with  their  presence,  but  sweetest 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         187 

of  all,  the  memory  of  him  in  whose  heart,  neither  length  of  years, 
nor  weighty  occupations,  nor  merited  honors  can  obliterate 
gratitude  for  a  kindness,  in  which  the  whole  merit  of  the 
Fathers  of  California  consisted,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
their  General,  in  having  done  their  duty  towards  the  exiled 
Capuchins  of  Guatemala. 

On  the  very  evening  preceding  the  departure  of  the  exiles, 
Father  James  Razzini  arrived  in  San  Francisco,  bringing  with 
him  from  Italy,  Messrs.  Dominic  Giacobbi,  Jerome  Ricard, 
Vincent  Chiappa  and  Angelo  Coltelli,  S.  J.  On  the  19th,  the 
announcement  of  his  appointment  as  Visitor  of  the  Californian 
Mission  was  made,  and  at  the  same  time  the  Fathers  were 
informed  of  the  confirmation  of  Father  Masnata  as  General 
Superior.  From  that  time  to  the  end  of  the  year,  there  was 
little  to  break  the  even  monotony  of  college  life,  if  we  except 
the  subjoined  letter  which  gave  occasion  to  the  scientific  lec- 
tures of  Father  Joseph  Neri. 

"Rev.  Jos.  Neri,  S.  J.,  Prof.  Natural  Philosophy,  St.  Ignatius 
College: 
You  are  respectfully  invited  to  deliver  a  lecture  on  some 
subject  of  the  physical  science,  at  such  time  hereafter  as  may 
be  designated,  to  form  one  of  the  Thursday  evening  polytechnic 
course,  and  thereafter  to  enter  into  such  details  as  may  be 
called  for,  connected  with  the  same  subject,  before  a  class, 
should  the  same  be  formed  from  those  in  the  community  de- 
veloping an  interest  in  that  specialty. 

Yours, 
John  W.   Dwinelle, 
Chairman  of  Joint  Committee. 
San  Francisco,  December  30th,  1872." 

The  joint  committee,  as  we  learn  from  the  tickets  issued 
at  the  time,  was  the  joint  committee  of  the  Mechanics  Institute 
and  the  University  of  California.  The  fact,  moreover,  that 
Father  Neri's  lecture  was  the  second  of  the  polytechnic  course, 
speaks  highly  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held.  Father 
Neri's  answer  was  as  follows: 


1 88  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

"Hon.  J.  W.  Dwinelle, 

Chairman  of  Joint  Committee: 

To  contribute  to  the  promotion  of  your  laudable  object  of 
spreading  sound  and  useful  knowledge,  I  willingly  accept  your 
invitation,  and  propose  to  deliver  a  lecture  with  experiments, 
illustrating  The  Physical  Constitution  and  General  Properties 
of  Bodies,'  at  the  hall  of  St.  Ignatius  College,  on  Thursday, 
January  23rd,  at  8  o'clock  p.  m. 

After  this,  in  accordance  with  your  plan,  I  propose  to  con- 
tinue a  course  of  lectures  on  Physics  and  Chemistry,  on  the 
first  and  third  Wednesdays  of  every  month,  during  February, 
March  and  April,  to  afford  to  such  students  as  cannot  follow  a 
complete  course  of  science,  and  to  the  public  at  large,  an  oppor- 
tunity of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  principles  of  physics  and 
their  most  interesting  applications.  The  particular  subjects 
will  be  announced  from  time  to  time.     .     .     . 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

Jos.  M.   Neri,  S.  J." 

1873. 

The  lecture  promised  by  Father  Neri  was  delivered  on  the 
evening  appointed,  and  received  flattering  comments  from  those 
who  listened  to  it.  "A  large  audience  attended,"  says  one  of 
the  daily  papers  of  the  time,  "and  enjoyed  one  of  the  most 
delightful  and  beneficial  entertainments  afforded  in  this  city  for 
many  a  day."  Father  Neri  was  an  enthusiast  in  his  love  of 
the  natural  sciences,  and  though  always  in  delicate  health,  and 
able  to  take  such  a  small  quantity  of  food  that  even  living  seemed 
almost  marvelous,  was,  nevertheless,  able  to  work  long  and 
laboriously  day  by  day,  ever  keeping  pace  with  the  newest  dis- 
coveries of  the  hour,  and  seeming  to  tire  only  when  exhausted 
nature  could  bear  no  more. 

His  one  thought  was  to  popularize  and  spread  as  much  as 
possible  the  discoveries  of  science,  freed  from  the  errors  with 
which  infidel  scientists  ever  sought  to  yoke  them;  and  he 
thought,  and  thought  well,  that  this  was  an  excellent  form  of 
missionary  work,  since  it  removed  prejudices  from  the  minds 
of  non-Catholics,  helped  to  strengthen  the  faith  of  ill-instructed 
Catholics,  and  made  good  Catholics  prouder  of  the  old  Church 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         189 

of  the  Ages,  by  demonstrating-  practically  that  there  was  no  true 
advance  of  science  that  she  could  not  bless;  that  there  was  not, 
and  could  not,  be  any  conflict  between  true  science  and  true 
religion.  At  a  period  when  the  greatest  scientists  of  the  world 
had  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  break  down  the  bulwarks  of 
religion  by  assailing  her  in  the  name  of  scientific  progress,  it  is 
to  the  honor  of  Father  Neri  that  he  stood  forth  fearlessly  as 
the  champion  of  scientific  truth  in  San  Francisco,  with  due 
credit  to  himself  and  to  the  society  and  church  which  he 
represented. 

As  early  as  September,  1871,  he  had  planned  an  evening 
school  of  science  to  be  held  at  the  college.  Classes  were  to 
have  been  given  on  Mondays,  Tuesdays,  Wednesday  and  Fri- 
days, from  7 130  to  8  130  p.  m.,  and  to  have  embraced  a  complete 
course  of  physics  and  chemistry.  The  terms  were  to  have  been 
$6.00  a  month.  Sufficient  pupils,  however,  to  warrant  the 
carrying  out  of  the  plan,  did  not  present  themselves,  and  the 
project  had  to  be  abandoned.  The  invitation  to  participate  in 
the  polytechnic  course  opened  up  a  new  field  to  Father  Neri's 
zeal,  and  he  gladly  took  advantage  of  it.  It  would  necessitate 
sacrifice  and  labor,  but  true  and  solid  fruit  on  earth  has  never 
sprung  from  other  parentage. 

This  preliminary  lecture  was  followed  by  a  course  of  five 
on  the  "Spectroscope,"  a  clear  and  beautiful  synopsis  of  which 
is  found  in  the  Guardian  of  May  3rd,  1873. 

The  daily  papers  of  the  time  published  extensive  and,  in 
general,  laudatory  accounts  of  the  lectures,  the  third  of  the  series 
winning  high  encomiums.  "This,"  says  one  of  the  papers,  "was 
decidedly  the  most  interesting  of  the  series  thus  far,  and  was 
illustrated  by  a  great  number  of  experiments.  The  best  evi- 
dence of  the  estimation  in  which  it  was  held  is  the  fact  that  so 
many  people  could  be  kept  together  under  the  most  intense  and 
absorbing  interest  until  past  1 1  o'clock." 

But,  we  must  go  back  some  months  in  our  history.  About 
the  middle  of  January,  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  fitted  up  their 
library  in  a  room  near  the  entrance  to  their  chapel.  It  was 
well  suited  to  its  purpose  and  convenient  for  the  members,  and 
gave  much  satisfaction. 


190  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Just  a  month  later,  February  12th,  Father  Raffo  left  St. 
Ignatius  to  replace  Father  Masnata.  The  term  of  Father 
Bayma's  presidency  was  drawing  to  a  close,  and  Father  Masnata 
had  been  chosen  to  succeed  him  in  office.  The  change  of  presi- 
dents took  place  on  Monday,  the  17th,  and  two  days  later  Father 
Masnata,  who  still  remained  General  Superior  of  the  Jesuits  in 
California,  was  tendered  a  reception  by  the  college  students. 
The  welcome  was  brief  and  simple,  for  it  was  a  family  affair  in 
which  the  heart  counts  more  than  the  tongue,  and  no  one 
doubted,  that,  when  Father  Masnata  promised  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  render  the  college  life  of  the  students  happy  and  suc- 
cessful, and  to  give  them  no  cause  to  regret  the  enthusiastic 
reception  with  which  they  were  pleased  to  receive  him,  he  not 
only  meant  what  he  said,  but  that  he  would  succeed  in  accom- 
plishing all  that  he  promised. 

"Father  Masnata,"  says  the  account  of  the  occurrence,  "is  a 
gentleman  well  known  throughout  California,  as  he  was,  for 
a  number  of  years,  president  of  Santa  Clara  College,  and  during 
his  time  there,  acquired  an  experience  in  administering  collegiate 
affairs  that  will  aid  him  very  materially  in  consummating  the 
desire  of  every  friend  of  St.  Ignatius,  which  is  to  make  it  one 
of  the  first  educational  institutions  in  San  Francisco.  Experi- 
ence teaches,  and  Father  Masnata  has  that  requisite  qualification. 

The  retiring  president,  Rev.  Father  Joseph  Bayma,  who  has 
watched  over  the  destinies  of  the  college  for  the  past  three  years, 
takes  with  him  the  gratitude  and  kind  well-wishes  of  all  who 
have  ever  been  under  his  paternal  direction,  as  well  as  of  all 
others  who  have  ever  known  him.  During  his  years  of  manage- 
ment, many  improvements  have  taken  place,  and  the  large  build- 
ings that  form  the  main  college  were  not  only  erected  under 
his  immediate  supervision,  but  the  design  and  architectural  plans 
are  his,  as  it  is  a  fact  well  known  that  he  is  a  superior  and 
accomplished  architect. 

Father  Bayma  will  not  leave  the  college  at  present,  but  will 
continue  to  occupy  the  chair  of  the  higher  mathematics,  a  posi- 
tion not  easily  filled  when  vacated  by  so  eminent  a  professor. 
St.  Ignatius  College  is  now  in  a  flourishing  condition,  as  is 
evinced  by  the  large  number  of  scholars  in  attendance.     That  it 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         191 

will  continue  to  prosper  cannot  be  otherwise  with  such  a  man 
as  Father  Masnata  to  direct  its  affairs." 

In  order  to  perpetuate  and  increase  the  fruit  of  his  lectures, 
Father  Neri,  in  May,  instituted  the  Loyola  Scientific  Academy, 
whose  object  was  "the  cultivation  and  promotion  of  the  study 
of  the  natural  sciences,  principally  in  the  various  branches  of 
general  physics,  chemistry,  geology  and  mineralogy.  Young 
gentlemen  of  good  standing,  graduates  of  this  or  other  insti- 
tutions, who  had  devoted  some  time  to  any  of  the  above-men- 
tioned branches"  were  "eligible  to  membership."  Essays  on 
scientific  subjects  were  read,  scientific  problems  discussed,  ques- 
tions proposed  and  answered,  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  members, 
whose  scientific  horizon  was  thus  broadened,  and  whose  zeal  for 
study  was  quickened  into  vigorous  life  by  the  presentation,  in 
their  meetings,  of  what  was  newest  in  the  world  of  scientific 
research. 

The  closing  exercises,  which  were  held  on  May  30th,  were 
honored  by  the  presence  of  Hon.  Zach.  Montgomery,  whose 
devotion  to  Christian  education  and  the  rights  of  parents,  had 
merited  him  the  bitter  antagonism  of  narrow  minds  and  the 
sincere  esteem  of  every  lover  of  sound  principles.  His  address 
to  the  graduates  was  a  masterly  one,  worthy  indeed  of  his  acute 
mind  and  honest  heart.  A  new  degree,  that  of  Bachelor  of 
Science,  is  found  in  the  catalogue  of  this  year.  "For  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Science  the  same  conditions  are  required  as  for 
the  degree  of  A.  B.,  with  the  exception  of  Latin  and  Greek." 

With  the  coming  of  June,  Father  Razzini  considered  that 
his  work  in  California  had  been  accomplished,  and  he  decided 
to  return  to  Europe.  He  would,  however,  on  his  way,  visit  the 
Missions  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  that  he  might  report  their 
progress  and  their  needs  to  the  higher  Superiors  of  the  Jesuit 
Order.  In  company,  therefore,  with  Father  Joseph  Giorda,  who 
had  arrived  in  California  from  the  North  in  the  beginning  of 
May,  Father  Razzini  left  San  Francisco  on  the  9th  of  June,  to 
return  to  California  no  more. 

July  added  Father  Celestine  Galliano  to  the  community;  and 
September,  Father  Gregory  Leggio,  who,  after  his  ordination  at 
Woodstock,  Maryland,  had  for  some  time  exercised  the  sacred 


1 92  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

ministry  in  Boston.  On  September  24th,  Father  Demasini  was 
again  Minister,  replacing  Father  Emmanuel  Nattini,  who  had 
filled  that  office  since  the  appointment,  in  February,  of  Father 
Masnata  as  president.  Father  Nattini  remained,  however,  vice- 
president.  On  December  17th,  the  college  faculty  received  a 
worthy  addition  in  the  person  of  Father  Peter  O'Flynn  of  the 
Irish  Province,  who  came  to  take  the  chair  of  poetry.  But  if 
it  rejoiced  in  its  increase,  it  had  also  to  mourn  its  loss.  The 
health  of  Father  Angelo  Affranchino,  precarious  for  some  time, 
unfortunately  broke  down  during  the  session,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  seek  elsewhere,  health  which  was  never  to  be  restored  to  him. 
An  affection  of  the  throat  deprived  him  of  a  voice  which  was 
far  above  the  ordinary,  and  which  had  made  him  such  a  useful 
choir  director  for  several  years. 

Intent  as  we  have  been  upon  other  things,  we  find  that  we 
have  failed  to  record  two  very  pretty  ceremonies,  which,  during 
the  year,  had  thrown  into  bold  relief  the  spirit  of  piety  animat- 
ing the  students.  The  first  was  the  Sunday-school  celebration 
on  May  25th,  when  the  pupils  and  others  who  attended  the 
classes,  between  five  and  six  hundred  strong,  formed  a  proces- 
sion in  honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  as  a  public  profession  of 
their  devotion  to  her. 

Eight  classes,  with  an  average  attendance  of  four  hundred 
and  fifty,  had  been  the  record  of  the  Sunday-school  for  the 
year.  Of  the  pupils  of  the  college,  three  hundred  were  Sodalists, 
the  members  being  about  evenly  divided  between  the  Seniors' 
Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  Juniors'  Sodality  of 
the  Holy  Angels. 

The  second  function  took  place  on  October  12th.  It  was 
the  consecration  of  the  Sodalities  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus. 
Knowing  well  the  love  of  young  hearts  for  ceremony,  and  the 
deep,  even  life-long  impression  for  good  that  results  in  them 
from  the  beautiful  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  Father  Prelato 
never  lost  an  opportunity  of  giving  his  Sodalists  the  benefit  of 
a  celebration.  Rev.  Father  Masnata  presided  at  the  ceremony, 
and  great  was  his  consolation  at  the  number  of  young  hearts 
present,  and  the  earnest  piety  with  which  they  offered  themselves 
to  the  heart  of  the  Redeemer. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         193 

1874. 
The  solemn  consecration  of  our  congregation  to  the  same 
Adorable  Heart,  took  place  on  January  18th,  1874.  On  the  nth 
of  the  month,  a  circular  from  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  was 
read  in  all  the  churches,  appointing  the  following  Sunday  as 
the  day  of  consecration  for  the  whole  archdiocese.  "A  wonder- 
ful number  of  confessions  at  night,"  is  the  comment  of  the  col- 
lege chronicler  on  the  17th,  and  the  number  must  have  been 
large  indeed,  to  excite  admiration  when  the  confessions  of  ordi- 
nary Saturdays  kept  the  Fathers  in  their  confessionals  well 
up  to  11  o'clock.  Next  day,  the  Feast  of  the  Holy  Name  of 
Jesus,  the  number  of  communions  was  extraordinary.  The 
church  was  decorated  as  for  the  greatest  of  feasts.  A  solemn 
high  mass  was  sung,  and  immediately  after  it,  all  the  Fathers,  in 
surplice  and  with  lighted  candles  in  their  hands,  filed  into  the 
sanctuary.  Mounting  to  the  side  of  the  altar,  Father  Buchard 
read  impressively  the  solemn  Act  of  Consecration,  and  the 
Te  Deum  was  immediately  intoned,  the  choir  and  clergy  alter- 
nating in  the  singing.  All  present  were  deeply  moved.  From 
five  o'clock  up  to  half-past  ten,  boys  were  stationed  at  the 
entrance  of  the  church  to  distribute  to  the  worshipers,  leaflets 
containing  the  Act  of  Consecration.  From  the  fact  that  twelve 
thousand  were  given  out,  an  idea  may  easily  be  formed  both  of 
the  attendance  of  the  faithful  and  the  magnificence  of  the 
celebration. 

A  little  later,  the  physical  cabinet  received  from  Tiburcio 
Parrott,  Esq.,  a  memorable  addition  to  its  already  remarkable 
collection.  It  was  a  large  electro-magnetic  machine,  one  of  those 
that  had  been  used  in  the  siege  of  Paris  by  the  defenders,  and 
the  first  of  its  kind  in  America.  Father  Neri  was  engaged  in 
a  course  of  public  lectures  on  "Electricity" ;  but  poor  health  did 
not  allow  him  to  continue  the  course  without  interruption.  The 
public  was  naturally  disappointed,  and,  to  make  some  compensa- 
tion, he  determined  to  exhibit,  in  April,  the  powers  of  the  new 
machine.  The  following  notice  is  taken  from  an  account  pub- 
lished at  the  time : 

"a   popular   scientific   exhibition. 

The  condition  of  Father  Neri's  health  not  being,  as  yet,  such 
as  to  permit  him  to  resume  his  public  lectures  on  'Electricity,' 


i94  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

the  time  cannot  now  be  definitely  announced  for  the  next  lecture, 
which,  however,  it  is  expected,  will  take  place  at  an  early  day. 
Meanwhile,  not  to  disappoint  the  public  altogether,  he  will  com- 
mence to  give  one  of  his  experiments,  on  a  large  scale,  on  top 
of  the  tower  of  St.  Ignatius,  to-morrow  evening,  April  9th, 
from  8  to  10  o'clock.  The  experiment  will  be  an  exhibition  of 
the  electric  light,  with  the  new  mammoth  magneto-electric 
machine  lately  received  from  Paris,  from  the  Compagnie 
1'  Alliance,  with  a  new  electric  light  regulator  for  first-class  light- 
houses, spherical  mirror  and  large  Fresnel  lens  a  echelons, 
mounted  on  a  rotating  table  to  project  the  light  to  the  most  dis- 
tant points  around  San  Francisco  and  the  bay  within  the  range 
of  the  tower.  The  light  is  such  as  to  be  seen  at  a  distance  of 
two  hundred  miles.  .  .  .  The  apparatus  used  on  the  occa- 
sion alone,  and  for  the  purpose  indicated,  represents  over  $5,000, 
a  large  portion  of  which  has  been  generously  contributed  by 
some  liberal  and  kind  patrons  of  science  and  education  in  our 
city,  who,  joining  modesty  to  generosity,  do  not  wish  to  be  men- 
tioned and  known.    The  thanks  of  all  to  such  souls." 

But  while  mindful  of  the  demands  of  science,  and  interested 
in  all  that  nature  might  reveal  of  the  wonders  concealed  in  her 
bosom  by  God,  her  Author,  the  Superiors  of  St.  Ignatius  never 
lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  all  this  was  but  a  means  toward  the 
saving  of  souls,  and  that  it  was  but  one,  even  though  an  impor- 
tant one,  of  the  many  to  be  employed;  and  that,  if  more  bril- 
liant, it  was  to  be  employed  side  by  side  with  others  less  striking 
to  the  eye,  but  equally  fruitful  in  good.  This,  too,  His  Grace, 
the  Archbishop,  well  knew ;  hence  the  following  letter : 

**  "San  Francisco,  April  7th,    1874. 

Very  Reverend  dear  Sir: 

I  have  a  very  important  matter  to  lay  before  you,  and  I  will, 
of  course,  expect  a  favorable  answer. 

The  case  is  this.  There  is  a  number  of  Catholic  children 
at  the  Industrial  School  who  ought  to  be  attended  in  their 
religion.  We  have  had  fair  play  there  for  a  long  time,  and  the 
officers  kindly  grant  all  facilities  for  having  mass  celebrated 
there  every  Sunday.  I  send  Father  Coyle  to  say  mass  every 
Sunday  at  10  o'clock,  but  the  old  gentleman,  though  willing,  is 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         195 

getting  sickly  and  unable  to  continue  that  service.  In  the  other 
churches  the  clergy  are  so  few  that  they  can  scarcely  have  a  few 
masses  for  the  accommodation  of  the  people.  So  I  must  direct 
my  attention  to  you,  who  may,  perhaps,  find  it  somewhat  incon- 
venient ;  but  I  think  that  the  affair  is  too  important,  and  that  its 
importance  will  induce  you  to  make  some  holy  arrangements  to 
meet  the  necessity. 

In  a  day  or  two,  I  shall,  please  God,  send  you  the  regular  invi- 
tation to  our  humble  Provincial  Council  cum  voto  consultative). 

Yours  truly  in  Christ, 

f  J.   S.   Alemany,   A.   S.   F. 
Very  Rev.  A.  Masnata,  S.  J.,  Supr." 

The  charge  was  gladly  accepted  by  the  Fathers.  Father 
Masnata  immediately  waited  upon  His  Grace  to  signify  accept- 
ance, and  Father  Gregory  Leggio  was  appointed  to  the  work  with 
Father  Galliano  as  substitute,  should  any  cause  whatsoever  inter- 
fere with  the  performance  of  Father  Leggio's  duty.  More- 
over, it  was  determined  that  four  or  five  times  a  year,  some  four 
of  the  Fathers  should  be  in  attendance,  not  only  to  give  the 
children  better  opportunities  for  confession,  but  to  allow  them, 
besides,  a  choice  of  confessors.  On  the  12th  of  April,  the  octave 
of  Easter  and  the  first  Sunday  following  His  Grace's  request, 
Father  Leggio  entered  upon  his  duties.  These  were  continued 
by  his  successors  until,  many  years  later,  the  boys  were  removed 
to  Whittier  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State. 

Was  it  the  ease  with  which  this  matter  had  been  arranged 
that  caused  His  Grace  to  return  to  the  Chinese  question?  The 
Fathers  again  and  again  had  shown  their  willingness  to  under- 
take works  in  which  zeal  alone  had  part — might  not  Father 
Masnata  be  able  to  effect  what  Father  Ponte  had  been  unable  to 
do  ?  In  any  case,  there  could  be  no  harm  in  asking.  Hence  His 
Grace's  letter  on  a  subject  so  near  his  heart : 

**  "San  Francisco,  Aug.   5th,    1874. 

Very  Reverend  dear  Sir: 

I  am  obliged  to  write  to  you  on  a  very  peculiar  subject,  in 
which  I  think  you  can  and  ought  to  help  me.  It  is  on  the  Chinese 
question. 


196  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

I  have  made  many  efforts  to  have  our  Chinese  attended  to 
in  their  spiritual  affairs.  I  wrote  to  Cardinal  Fransoni.  I  got 
a  Franciscan  missionary,  who,  after  building  a  little  chapel  for 
them,  left  in  bad  health.  Then  I  obtained  Father  Thomas 
Cian,  who  could  not  do  much  for  them,  and  he  finally  had  to 
go.  Then  I  visited  the  Chinese  College  at  Naples,  but  saw  that 
I  could  scarcely  entertain  any  hope  of  succeeding  there.  Then 
Father  Valentini  came,  but  he  needed  a  catechist,  whom  I 
obtained  from  Hongkong,  and  he  also  needed  a  school  and 
chapel,  which,  when  established,  were  not  over  successful.  I  also 
wrote  to  our  missionaries  in  China,  who  could  not  help. 
I  spoke  to  our  old  friend,  Father  Ponte,  who  was  very 
anxious  to  undertake  it,  but  he  desired  first  to  communicate 
with  the  General,  but  the  General  did  not  encourage  immediate 
action.  Then  I  wrote  to  the  General,  and  he  recommended  me 
to  write  to  Bishop  Languillat  of  China,  but,  naturally  enough, 
this  good  Bishop  thinks  he  needs  what  missionaries  he  has. 
Therefore,  what  is  to  be  done  ?  Must  I  abandon  all  hope  ?  Must 
I  leave  the  large  number  of  Chinese  here  and  through  the  dio- 
cese without  any  efficient  provision  for  them,  and  without  any 
missionaries  to  work  for  them?  The  question  is  a  serious  one 
and  should  be  faced. 

And  I  do  believe  that  you  might  make  plans  by  which  you 
could  devote  one  or  two  missionaries  to  this  noble  work.  Such 
mission  cannot  be  well  given  to  secular  priests;  it  is  not  easy  to 
expect  any  other  religious  community  to  be  able  to  attend  to  it; 
I  believe  that  St.  Francis  Xavier  and  St.  Ignatius  would  say 
that  such  a  mission  must  be  attended  to  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers, 
and  I  believe  that  in  charity  you  ought  to  take  the  matter  in 
hand  in  real  earnest.  I  cannot  give  up  the  affair;  for  I  suppose 
that  you  yourself,  in  my  place,  would  press  the  matter  to  the  last 
point.  Of  course  I  write  this  in  a  good  spirit;  and  yet  I  mean 
that  you  must  have  charity  enough  to  give  me  an  answer  differ- 
ent from  all  those  I  got  these  last  twenty  years. 
Yours  truly  in  Christ, 

f  J.   S.   Alemany,  A.   S.   F. 
Very  Rev.  Aloysius  Masnata,  S.  J.,  Supr." 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         197 

If  the  zeal  of  the  pious  Archbishop  needed  eulogy,  the 
foregoing  letter  would  abundantly  supply  it.  He  had  done 
what  was  in  his  power  though  success  had  not  crowned  his 
efforts.  Not  for  one  year  alone  nor  for  ten  had  he  struggled, 
but,  as  he  himself  tells  us,  for  two  decades  of  years,  ever  rising 
superior  to  ill-success,  and  turning  from  one  quarter  to  another, 
according  as  here  or  there  he  saw  a  gleam  of  hope.  Five  years 
previously,  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  he  had  even  turned 
over  his  old  archiepiscopal  residence  on  Dupont  Street,  near 
California,  to  be  a  chapel  for  the  Chinese,  and  had  built  for 
himself  a  new  residence  which  the  Paulist  Fathers  now  occupy. 
As  the  matter  was  of  the  utmost  importance,  Father 
Masnata  was  obliged,  as  Father  Ponte  had  been  before  him,  to 
refer  the  matter  to  Higher  Superiors,  and  the  same  answer  seems 
to  have  been  returned  that,  all  things  considered,  it  was  not 
expedient  for  the  Fathers,  burdened  as  they  were  with  work  of 
church  and  college,  attending  San  Quentin,  the  city  prisons, 
the  hospitals,  the  industrial  school,  acting  as  confessors  to 
most  of  the  various  sisterhoods,  to  undertake  a  work  so  ex- 
cellent and  desirable,  but  which  must  necessarily  interfere  with 
other  good  works  already  accepted  and  established.  So  the 
matter  ended. 

Music  this  year  among  the  pupils  of  the  college  came  into 
greater  prominence  than  ever  before.  On  February  12th,  the 
St. Ignatius  Band  was  organized  "to  cultivate  music  for  inno- 
cent social  enjoyment  and  to  add  solemnity  to  civil  and  religious 
festivals."  Father  Nattini  was  president,  and  Mr.  L.  Von  der 
Mehden,  director.  Vocal  music  was  also  cultivated,  as  we 
learn  from  the  programme  of  the  exhibition,  which  tells  us 
of  "songs  by  the  Pupils'  Musical  Society,  under  the  leadership 
of  Mr.  L.  Von  der  Mehden."  This  latter  society  does  not  seem, 
however,  to  have  had  a  complete  organization  distinct  from 
that  of  the  band,  for  until  the  following  year  it  has  no  place 
in  the  catalogue  among  college  societies.  When,  however,  it 
does  appear,  it  replaces  the  band. 

The  faculty  this  year  lost  Fathers  Leggio  and  Galliano, 
who  went  to  Santa  Clara;  but  received  in  return  from  Santa 
Clara,  Messrs.  James  O'Sullivan,  Daniel  Crowley  and  Dominic 
Giacobbi,   S.   J. 


198  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

1875. 

The  year  1875  affords  little  to  the  recording  pen  in  com- 
parison with  other  years,  but  what  it  offers  is  indicative  of  the 
flourishing  state  of  the  college.  The  number  of  the  pupils 
reached  748,  and  presented  eight  candidates  for  degrees — 
James  I.  Boland,  John  T.  Fogarty,  Alfred  T.  Kelly,  Joseph 
Pescia,  Florence  McAuliffe  and  Michael  F.  O'Connor  for  that 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts;  Jerome  Hughes  and  Thomas  Tully  for 
that  of  Bachelor  of  Science.  On  August  13th,  Father  Angelo 
Affranchino  and  Mr.  Jeremiah  Collins,  S.  J.,  came  from  Santa 
Clara  to  form  part  of  the  faculty;  and  three  days  later  Mr. 
Joseph  Sasia  left  to  complete  his  theological  course  in  Wood- 
stock, Maryland. 

It  has  been  our  pleasant  duty  in  the  early  part  of  the 
preceding  year,  to  record  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Tiburcio  Parrott 
towards  the  physical  cabinet  of  the  college.  It  is  an  equally 
pleasant  one  to  chronicle,  in  the  October  of  this,  the  even 
more  costly  gift  of  Mr.  Joseph  Donohoe  to  the  museum.  Of 
him  and  his  gift  the  college  historian  writes: 

"Sometime  later,  Mr.  Joseph  Donohoe,  a  most  excellent 
man  and  wonderfully  devoted  to  the  Society  of  Jesus,  enriched 
by  his  generosity  the  Museum  of  Natural  History.  His  dona- 
tion consisted  of  a  rich  collection  of  minerals  and  other 
substances,  together  with  a  no  small  collection  of  objects 
sculptured  by  the  art  of  various  Indian  tribes.  But,  generous 
as  was  this  gift,  it  was  outdone  by  the  richness  of  the  cases 
that  contained  it.  In  these,  the  rareness  and  solidity  of  the 
wood  vies  with  the  grace  and  elegance  of  artistic  construction, 
so  that  the  cases  themselves  are  works  of  great  price." 

The  Monitor  of  October  9th  treats  of  the  same  generous 
deed  under  the  heading, 

"a  true  friend  of  science." 
.  "Our  distinguished  citizen,  Joseph  A.  Donohoe,  Esq.,"  it 
says,  "lately  secured  the  magnificent  collection  of  minerals  and 
curiosities  which  has  so  long  been  admired  at  the  Occidental 
Hotel,  and  with  rare  generosity  has  donated  it  to  St.  Ignatius 
College  on  Market  Street. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         199 

The  cabinet  contains  very  many  specimens,  large  and  small, 
of  valuable  and  rich  ores  and  minerals,  Indian  remains,  shells, 
coins,  rarities,  curiosities  and  historical  records  of  various 
kinds,  collected  in  the  course  of  many  years,  and  contributed 
by  donors  from  different  parts  of  the  world.  The  collection 
made  up  three  or  four  wagon  loads  in  transportation. 

The  superb  mahogany  cases,  lined  with  velvet  and  mirrors, 
and  of  beautiful  workmanship,  ten  feet  in  height  and  thirty-six 
feet  in  length,  form  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  donation. 
They  are  now  being  put  up  in  an  additional  room,  which  will  be, 
in  the  college,  the  ninth  devoted  to  the  scientific  department, 
where  they  will  remain  as  a  permanent  monument  to  the  kind 
thoughtfulness  and  generosity  of  the  donor  and  to  the  active 
interest  that  he  takes  in  the  cause  of  Catholic  education. 

Much  credit  is  certainly  due  the  generous  donor,  for  such 
deeds  as  this  are,  as  yet,  rare  among  us ;  and  while  Protestant 
institutions  and  universities,  largely  endowed  by  city  and  State, 
so  often  receive  large  gifts  and  legacies,  and  are  otherwise 
greatly  helped  by  individuals,  our  Catholic  colleges  and  insti- 
tutions, destitute  of  revenues  and  means,  though  equally  and 
even  more  deserving,  are  too  easily  forgotten  by  those  who 
could  well  aid  them  in  their  noble  work,  and  are  left  to  struggle 
on  against  great  difficulties  unaided  by  all  except  their  own 
individual  efforts. 

Let  us  hope  that  the  praiseworthy  act  of  Mr.  Donohoe, 
just  chronicled,  will  be  often  and  largely  imitated  by  our  men 
of  means,  of  whom  there  is  no  lack  in  our  Catholic  community." 

But  amid  the  general  prosperity  of  the  year,  there  was  one 
loss  to  the  college  which  we  regret  to  mention,  but  history  is 
a  statement  of  facts  in  which  pleasant  and  unpleasant  events 
hold  equal  rank  and  demand  equal  recognition.  The  loss  was 
the  disbandment  of  the  Ignatian  Literary  Society,  which,  during 
its  existence,  had  so  often  reflected  great  honor  on  the  insti- 
tution as  well  as  on  its  own  members.  The  minutes  of  the 
society  tell  the  tale. 

"October  26th,   1875. 
A  special   meeting  of  the   Ignatian   Literary   Society  was 
convened  this  evening  by  the  president.     Messrs.   R.  Tobin, 


200  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Jas.  H.  Clark,  T.  D.  Riordan,  Thos.  H.  Griffin,  R.  E.  McGill 
and  A.  Campbell,  Jr.,  were  present,  Rev.  E.  M.  Nattini  occupy- 
ing the  chair,  and  Jas.  H.  Clark  acting  as  secretary  pro  tern. 
The  president  stated  that  owing  to  the  impossibility  of  the 
members'  attending  the  regular  meetings  of  the  society,  any 
motion  was  now  in  order  for  the  dissolution  of  the  society. 
Mr.  A.  Campbell  moved  that  the  Ignatian  Literary  Society  be 
considered  not  existing  any  longer  after  the  adjournment  of 
the  present  meeting.  Seconded  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Clark,  the  motion 
was  carried  unanimously.  It  was  also  moved  and  seconded 
that  the  president  be  requested  to  give  certificates  of  member- 
ship, with  discretionary  powers  to  act  in  reference  to  this  matter, 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  society.  Mr.  A.  Campbell  moved 
that  a  vote  of  thanks  be  offered  the  president  for  his  constant 
efforts  and  labors  in  behalf  of  the  society.  The  president 
responded  in  a  feeling  manner.  After  which  the  final  adjourn- 
ment of  the  society  was  moved  and  carried. 

E.   M.   Nattini,   S.  J.,   Pres." 

The  society  was,  however,  reorganized  on  a  different  basis 
before  the  following  June,  for  in  the  catalogue  of  that  date 
the  society  appears  with  its  full  complement  of  officers. 

While  the  Ignatian  Society  was  thus,  in  October,  closing 
a  useful  existence,  Father  Neri  was  about  reopening  the  course 
of  public  lectures  which  ill  health,  about  March  of  the  previous 
year,  had  obliged  him  to  discontinue.  In  the  first  lecture  of  the 
resumed  course,  Thursday,  November  4th,  he  says  pleasantly: 

"As  resumption  seems  now  to  be  the  cry  of  the  day,  I 
reappear  before  you  this  evening  to  resume  the  course  of  the 
scientific  lectures  suspended  about  twenty  months  ago.  As 
long  as  influential  firms  and  banks  either  forced  to  suspend  or 
designedly  suspended,  and  inflation  schemes  held  sway  in  the 
country  with  an  apparent  chance  of  success,  I  could  venture 
to  hold  out  after  their  example,  and  keep  both  myself  and  my 
ticket-holders  in  suspension;  but  when  the  Bank  of  California 
bravely  resumed,  and  Democracy  was  defeated  in  the  Ohio 
elections  by  the  resumption  party,  I  clearly  saw  that  I  had  to 
change  my  policy  and  that  it  was  high  time  for  resumption." 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        201 

In  this  last  lecture  on  December  9th,  he  pays  the  following 
delicate  tribute  to  Mr.  Parrott: 

"And  especially  do  I  return  thanks  to  a  few  friends  of  our 
institution,  patrons  of  science  and  education,  who  very  gen- 
erously donated  considerable  sums  to  enable  us  to  procure 
valuable  pieces  of  apparatus.  Indeed,  without  the  spirit  of 
one  whose  name  I  regret  not  to  be  at  liberty  to  divulge,  his 
modesty  being  equal  to  his  generosity,  my  aspirations,  though 
so  high  in  these  matters,  would  never  have  arisen  to  a  twelve- 
thousand-franc  magneto-electric  machine,  or,  if  they  had 
mounted  so  high,  they  would  have  remained  castles  in  the 
air,  as  they  would  have  been  without  the  solid  foundation  of 
hard  cash,  had  he  not  undertaken  to  pay  the  bill.  I  take  this 
occasion  to  thank  him  cordially  again,  as  also  another  very 
estimable  person  not  far  removed  from  him,  who  contributed 
nearly  one  half  of  the  sum  without  which  we  could  not  easily 
have  procured  a  seven-hundred-dollar  induction  coil." 

1876. 

The  spiritual  fruits  produced  in  the  church  were  ever  on 
the  increase,  as  had  been  demonstrated  again  and  again  as 
the  various  feast  days  gave  the  people  a  chance  of  manifesting 
their  devotion;  but  the  Holy  Saturday  of  1876  was  remark- 
able even  among  remarkable  days,  for  the  confessionals  were 
crowded  from  afternoon  until  midnight,  even  though  extra 
confessionals  were  placed  in  the  church  and  two  of  the  Fathers 
heard  confessions  in  the  parlors. 

The  Sodalities,  also,  were  flourishing,  and,  on  June  nth,  the 
Ladies'  Sodality  passed  a  resolution  that  girls  under  fifteen 
years  of  age,  were  not  eligible  for  membership.  Thus  we  read 
in  the  minutes:  "Sunday,  June  nth,  the  Reverend  Director, 
Father  Accolti,  passed  a  resolution  that  no  one  should  be 
admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  until  past  the  age  of  fifteen;  those  that  had  already  been 
admitted  as  members  under  that  age  could  remain  as  members." 
It  is  probable  that  the  admission  of  children  too  young,  had 
proved  detrimental  to  the  organization,  in  as  much  as  childhood 
lacked  the  maturity  and  gravity  which  older  persons  naturally 
desired  in  organizations  of  this  kind. 


202  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

On  July  1 8th,  Father  John  Pinasco  came  from  Santa  Clara 
to  assume  the  duties  of  vice-president  of  the  college,  and  about 
two  weeks  later,  Father  Nattini  was  transferred  to  Santa  Clara. 
Father  Maraschi,  after  being  treasurer  of  the  pupils  for  twenty- 
one  years,  was  relieved  by  Father  Prelate  Mr.  Robert  Smith, 
S.  J.,  on  October  9th,  took  the  place  of  Mr.  M.  Hanrahan. 

On  August  8th,  the  Mechanics  Institute  opened  its  eleventh 
industrial  exhibition  in  its  pavilion,  which  at  that  time  stood 
at  Mission  and  Eighth  Streets,  and  invited  the  college  to 
display  its  physical  cabinet.  Though  the  project  was  one 
involving  extreme  care,  since  the  apparatus  was  so  delicate; 
and  of  no  slight  risk,  since  in  great  part  fragile;  the  college 
authorities  thought  that  this  would  be  an  excellent  opportunity 
for  submitting  to  the  public  gaze,  what  Catholics  in  the  city 
were  doing  for  science.  How  highly  their  courtesy  was  valued, 
we  may  judge  from  the  "Report  on  Exhibits" : 

"One  of  the  most  prominent  and  attractive  features  of  the 
exhibition,"  it  says,  "was,  by  universal  consent,  this  display 
of  a  large  portion  of  the  scientific  apparatus  of  St.  Ignatius 
College,  and  the  exhibitions  of  electric  light  and  other  physical 
experiments  by  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Neri,  S.  J.,  professor  of  natural 
philosophy  of  that  institution  of  learning.  The  more  delicate 
portion  of  the  scientific  instruments,  neatly  arranged,  labelled, 
and  classified  under  their  proper  departments,  was  exhibited 
upon  shelves  entirely  encased  within  a  glass  enclosure  thirty- 
two  feet  long,  twelve  feet  wide,  and  twelve  feet  high.  The 
larger  and  heavier  portion  of  the  apparatus  occupied  an  open 
space  contiguous  to  the  glass  enclosure.     .     .     . 

The  appearance  presented  by  the  display  of  such  an  elaborate 
and  costly  apparatus  was  imposing  in  the  extreme.  Having 
been,  for  the  most  part,  manufactured  to  order  for  St.  Ignatius 
College  during  the  last  six  years,  it  is  quite  new  and  of  modern 
construction,  and  not  only  highly  finished,  but  well  adapted  to 
the  work  required  of  it,  both  for  class  and  lecture  demonstra- 
tions, and  for  research  and  investigation.     .     .     . 

These  scientific  exhibitions,  both  of  magnificent  philosophical 
apparatus  and  of  the  illustrations  and  experiments  ably  con- 
ducted by  Rev.  Father  Neri  and  his  assisting  pupils  on  such  a 


FATHER  JOHN  PINASCO,  S.  J. 


ST.    IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         203 

large  scale,  proved  eminently  interesting  to  all  classes  of  people. 
Thousands  of  visitors,  who  were  unaware  even  of  the  existence 
of  such  means  of  knowledge  and  scientific  information,  could 
not  but  derive  much  profit  and  advantage  from  this  display.  No 
doubt  the  exhibit  contributed  much  toward  the  success  of  the 
eleventh  Industrial  Fair. 

We  may  well  congratulate  ourselves  on  possessing  in  our 
midst,  in  this  young  city  and  State,  such  facilities  for  scientific 
education  as  St.  Ignatius  College  affords  to  our  rising  genera- 
tion, and  such  a  cabinet  of  philosophical  apparatus,  second  to 
none  in  the  United  States." 

We  have  said  that  the  humbler  works  of  spiritual  charity 
have  ever,  in  St.  Ignatius,  gone  hand  in  hand  with  the  more 
striking  works  of  science  and  education,  and  the  truth  received 
new  illustration  this  year  when,  at  His  Grace's  request,  Father 
Peter  O'Flynn  accepted  the  chaplaincy  of  the  English-speaking 
prisoners  of  San  Quentin.  Two  Jesuits  thenceforward,  instead 
of  one,  for  a  considerable  time,  paid  regular  visits  to  the  insti- 
tution, Father  O'Flynn  attending  those  to  whom  English  was 
the  mother  tongue,  and  Father  Piccardo  attending  those  to  whom 
it  was  not. 

On  November  25th,  a  new  member  was  added  to  the  faculty, 
Father  Amandus  Wenzel,  a  brilliant  scientist.  He  had  arrived 
in  California  a  year  before  from  Guayaquil,  Equador,  having 
been  exiled  by  the  revolutionists  after  the  murder  of  Garcia 
Moreno.  After  a  three  weeks'  stay  in  California,  he  had 
departed  for  St.  Louis,  but  now  had  returned,  having  been  given 
to  the  Mission  of  California  by  Very  Rev.  Father  Beckx  and 
assigned  to  St.  Ignatius  College  by  Father  Masnata.  Various 
changes  in  administration  were  in  contemplation — changes  that 
made  Father  Wenzel's  services  both  most  useful  and  acceptable. 

On  December  8th,  Father  John  Pinasco  was  announced  as 
president  of  St.  Ignatius.  He  immediately  took  up  the  duties 
of  the  new  office  without  relinquishing  those  of  the  vice- 
presidency.  In  fact,  during  the  three  years  and  a  half  that  he 
ruled  the  destinies  of  the  institution,  he  fulfilled  the  duties  of 
both  positions  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  all  concerned,  though 


204  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

with  how  much  labor  to  himself  and  self-sacrifice,  those  only 
who  have  experienced  such  cares  can  fully  realize. 

1877. 

On  January  5th,  Father  Neri  went  to  teach  physics  in  Santa 
Clara.  Father  Brunengo,  professor  of  that  branch  of  science, 
had  replaced  Father  Varsi  as  president  of  Santa  Clara  College 
on  December  26th,  1876,  and  Fathers  Varsi  and  Wenzel  were 
to  divide  Father  Neri's  work  between  them,  the  latter  taking 
chemistry;  the  former,  physics.  On  the  Feast  of  the  Epiphany, 
Father  Varsi  came  to  St.  Ignatius,  bringing  with  him  the  broad 
mind  and  the  generous  heart  that  were  to  plan  so  much  and 
execute  so  much  for  its  future  welfare.  With  his  coming,  the 
period  of  development  was  drawing  to  a  close,  and  that  of  com- 
pletion was  about  to  dawn.  But  some  months  of  rest  were  to 
be  given  him,  in  which,  after  nine  years  of  arduous  toil  and 
ceaseless  worry  in  college  management,  he  would  be  allowed  to 
revel  in  the  delights  of  physics,  of  which  branch  of  natural 
science  he  was  an  accomplished  master. 

On  the  26th  of  the  month,  the  beautiful  marble  statue  of  St. 
Joseph  arrived  from  Rome.  It  was  the  gift  of  James  R.  Kelly, 
Esq.  It  was  placed  on  the  side  altar  which  stood  to  the  right 
of  the  main  altar,  the  picture  of  the  Sacred  Heart  which  had 
been  there,  having  been  removed  to  give  it  place.  Here  it 
remained  until  later  the  church  was  abandoned.  It  was  then 
placed  in  the  present  church,  where  it  now  stands  on  its  own 
altar,  an  object  of  devotion  to  the  faithful  and  a  memorial  to 
the  piety  of  the  donor. 

In  the  beginning  of  May,  to  the  great  pleasure  of  his  many 
friends,  Father  Affranchino  arrived  from  New  Mexico,  whither 
he  had  gone  the  preceding  year  to  seek  restoration  to  health.  His 
journey  had  not  been  successful,  though  doubtless  it  helped  to 
prolong  his  life.  He  was  soon  appointed  to  labor  in  San  Jose, 
where  he  remained  until  shortly  before  his  death.  He  died 
piously  at  Santa  Clara,  July  13th,  1879. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  Father  Varsi  departed  for  Italy.  The 
motives  for  the  removal  of  church  and  college  had  become  so 
pressing  that  delay  meant  serious,  if  not  irreparable  loss.  In  a 
city  rapidly  developing,  desirable  locations  for  a  large  church 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        205 

and  college  are  not  always  obtainable;  and  if,  when  obtainable, 
the  opportunity  of  purchasing  them  is  neglected,  they  are  liable 
to  be  subdivided  and  built  upon,  thus  either  taking  the  prop- 
erty entirely  out  of  the  market,  or  uselessly  doubling  or  trebling 
the  original  price  to  a  purchaser  who  desires  the  land  only  and 
not  the  buildings. 

If  church  and  college  were  to  continue  to  exist,  they  must 
move,  and  move  as  soon  as  possible.  Taxation  to  the  amount 
of  $12,000  a  year  was  already  away  and  beyond  what  the 
resources  of  the  Fathers  could  bear;  and  this  sum,  far  from 
diminishing,  would  inevitably  increase  as  the  land  grew  in  com- 
mercial value  and  better  buildings  were  erected  on  it.  The 
Fathers  had  no  choice;  they  must  leave  the  property  on  Market 
Street. 

The  matter  was  thoroughly  discussed  with  Very  Rev.  Father 
Beckx,  the  General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and,  having  received 
his  approval,  was  submitted  to  the  Propaganda  for  decision. 
Father  Varsi  had  an  interview  with  His  Eminence,  Cardinal 
Franchi,  Prefect  of  the  Propaganda,  submitted  maps  of  San 
Francisco,  and  indicated  two  lots  somewhat  nearer  Market  Street 
than  the  one  at  present  occupied,  as  possible  locations  for  the 
new  buildings. 

On  being  asked  whether  the  Fathers  might  go  on  with  the 
project,  "Facciano  pure,"  answered  the  Cardinal;  "Let  them  by 
all  means."  The  matter,  therefore,  was  definitely  settled.  A 
site  a  little  more  removed  from  Market  Street  than  those  first 
thought  of  was  ultimately  chosen,  but  of  this  a  little  later. 

In  June  of  the  present  year,  Father  Joseph  Bixio  once  more 
joined  the  community,  and,  in  July,  Father  Patrick  Kelly  and 
Mr.  Michael  Shallo,  S.  J.  Messrs.  James  O'Sullivan  and  Robert 
Smith,  S.  J.,  went  to  Santa  Clara;  and  Father  O'Flynn  was 
transferred  from  college  work  to  that  of  the  ministry.  Father 
Barchi,  as  librarian,  appears  in  the  college  catalogue,  a  distinc- 
tion justly  merited  by  a  zeal  equally  admirable  in  the  obtaining 
of  books  and  in  the  care  of  those  committed  to  his  charge.  Had 
Father  Florence  Sullivan  been  given  his  choice  of  employments, 
he  could  not  have  selected  one  more  to  his  taste  than  that  which 
fell  to  his  lot  in  the  appointment  of  offices — the  directorship, 
namely,  of  the  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart.     The  development 


206  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

and  extension  of  this  devotion  became  his  earnest  endeavor, 
and  love  made  labor  light  when  directed  to  this  worthy  end. 

In  the  absence  of  Father  Varsi,  Father  Wenzel  was 
appointed  to  take  full  charge  of  the  department  of  natural 
sciences.  An  accomplished  scholar,  it  was  easy  for  him  to  assume 
its  manifold  duties.  An  accident,  however,  soon  came  to  mar 
the  happy  condition  of  affairs,  and,  while  less  serious  than  it 
might  have  been  under  the  circumstances,  it  was  a  source  of 
much  physical  pain  and  mental  anxiety  to  him,  for  there  was 
question  of  the  probable  loss  of  an  eye. 

On  August  2 1  st,  while  experimenting  in  class  with  hydro- 
gen, the  jar  containing  the  gas  exploded,  and  fragments  of  glass 
penetrated  his  left  eye.  Fears  were  naturally  entertained  that 
sight  was  destroyed. 

Doctors  O'Toole  and  Martinache,  the  best  oculists  in  the 
city,  whose  professional  services  were  ever  at  the  Fathers'  dis- 
posal without  pecuniary  compensation,  were  immediately  sum- 
moned, and  hastened  to  do  everything  that  friendship  and 
science  could  do.  Thanks  to  their  devotion  and  skill,  the  eye- 
sight was  saved.  It  remained,  however,  somewhat  impaired, 
until,  some  years  later,  by  a  special  favor  of  Heaven,  as  is 
reported,  it  was  restored  to  him  in  all  its  fullness. 

During  the  weeks  of  Father  Wenzel's  enforced  seclusion, 
the  scientific  classes  of  the  college  were  carried  on  by  Father 
Neri,  who,  in  the  first  days  of  August,  had  come  to  St.  Ignatius 
from  Santa  Clara  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  On  September 
19th,  Father  Wenzel  was  again  in  harness,  and  a  week  later 
Father  Neri  departed. 

On  the  28th  of  the  same  month,  Father  Varsi  arrived  in  San 
Francisco,  bringing  with  him  fourteen  young  men  who  had 
come  to  increase  the  number  of  Jesuits  in  California.  Among 
them  were  several  who  have  since  attained  prominence  among 
their  brethren.  There  was  in  the  number  a  young  student, 
Joseph  Hickey;  there  were  novices,  Edward  Allen  and  John 
Nestor;  candidates,  Richard  Gleeson  and  William  Melchers;  all, 
at  present,  Fathers  who  have  contributed  much  to  the  spiritual 
growth  and  prosperity  of  the  Californian  Mission. 

On  October  1st,  Father  Varsi  accompanied  the  band  to  Santa 
Clara,  and  was  there,  on  the  following  day,  announced  as  the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         207 

successor  of  Father  Masnata,  General  Superior  of  the  Jesuits 
in  California.  Santa  Clara  had  been  the  residence  of  Father 
Masnata  since  the  30th  of  July;  for,  informed  as  he  had  been 
of  the  coming  appointment  of  Father  Varsi,  he  had  transferred 
his  abode  thither  in  anticipation  of  the  change.  The  announce- 
ment of  Father  Varsi's  Superiorship  was  not  made  in  St. 
Ignatius,  however,  until  the  following  day.  On  the  5th,  Father 
Varsi  returned  to  the  city,  to  reside  permanently  and  gird  him- 
self to  meet  the  almost  superhuman  cares  and  labors  that 
awaited  him. 

With  the  departure  of  Father  Neri  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  the  Loyola  Academy  seems  to  have  passed  out  of  existence. 
A  new  debating  society,  however,  came  to  light  in  October, 
under  the  directorship  of  Mr.  Shallo.  It  was  the  Junior  Phil- 
historian  Debating  Society,  and,  as  its  name  indicates,  was 
intended  for  the  younger  pupils.  A  new  departure  is  also  found 
in  the  college  catalogue,  in  which  the  list  of  graduates 
is  printed  for  the  first  time. 

With  Father  Varsi  at  the  head  of  affairs;  with  the  urgency 
of  removal  of  church  and  college  daily  growing;  with  the 
knowledge  that  His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Franchi,  the  prefect 
of  the  Propaganda,  favored  a  change  of  location;  it  was  but 
natural  that  as  little  time  as  possible  should  be  lost  in  making 
the  selection.  The  site  definitely  chosen  was  the  present 
one,  called  Block  74  of  the  Western  Addition,  and  owned  by 
Mr.  D.  J.  Oliver.  It  was  sufficiently  large,  was  bounded  by  four 
streets,  Van  Ness  Avenue,  Hayes,  Franklin  and  Grove;  was 
sufficiently  central,  especially  in  view  of  the  city's  growth ;  and 
was  in  a  desirable  residence  locality.  The  deeds  were  signed 
on  October  29th,  and  the  price  paid  was  $200,000;  a  rather 
high  figure  at  the  time  of  purchase;  but,  as  the  property  was 
about  to  be  sold  in  subdivisions,  it  was  either  pay  the  price  or 
lose  the  opportunity,  so  the  price  was  paid,  as  prices  before  had 
been  paid,  with  borrowed  money. 

In  connection  with  the  lot,  a  deed  of  kindness  calls  for  men- 
tion. When  the  news  was  noised  abroad  that  the  Fathers  had 
made  the  purchase,  bigotry  soon  began  to  make  itself  felt.  Ivy 
Avenue  ran  east  and  west  on  either  side  of  the  property,  and 
if  this  were  opened  up,  Block  74  would  be  ruined  as  a  site  for 


208  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

the  Jesuit  church  and  college.  The  Fathers'  enemies  were  soon 
at  work,  but  so  also  were  the  Fathers'  friends,  and  foremost  Mr. 
John  A.  Hicks,  who  placed  his  time  and  talents  at  the  disposal  of 
Alma  Mater.  In  the  State  Legislature  he  ably  defended  the 
Fathers'  interests,  so  that  the  block  was  left  undisturbed,  much 
to  his  credit  and  Alma  Mater's  happiness. 

1878. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  1878,  Pope  Pius  IX  ended  his  long 
and  dolorous  pontificate  by  a  saintly  death.  A  solemn  funeral 
service  was  celebrated  for  him  in  the  Cathedral  on  the  12th,  at 
which  several  of  our  Fathers  assisted;  and  on  the  20th,  in  our 
church.  The  edifice  was  draped  in  black  and  a  magnificent  cata- 
falque was  erected  near  the  altar  rails.  The  altar  itself  was 
one  mass  of  lights,  and  the  solemn  tones  of  the  organ  reflected 
the  sincere  sorrow  of  the  immense  throng  that  gathered  to  offer 
the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  mass  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  the 
Supreme  Father  of  the  faithful. 

From  the  Monitor  oi  February  28th  we  glean  both  the  fol- 
lowing complimentary  notice  and  the  more  complimentary 
description : 

"The  solemn  requiem  mass  for  Pius  IX,"  it  says,  "was  cele- 
brated at  this  church  (St.  Ignatius)  on  Wednesday,  20th  inst. 
The  Jesuit  Fathers  and  the  Sodality  members  had  made  great 
preparations  for  the  service,  and  in  elaborate  and  artistic  decora- 
tion it  outrivaled  that  of  all  the  other  churches  in  the  city." 

But  let  us  view  the  solemn  scenes  through  the  eyes  of  one 
who  was  present : 

"On  Sunday,  the  17th  instant,  it  was  announced  at  all  the 
masses  in  the  church  of  the  Jesuits,  841  Market  Street,  that  a 
requiem  mass  would  be  celebrated  on  Wednesday  for  the  soul  of 
the  deceased  Pontiff,  and  the  faithful  of  the  congregation  were 
recommended  to  approach  the  Holy  Communion  on  that  day 
for  the  above  intention,  and,  also,  for  the  Conclave  then  in  ses- 
sion. In  accordance  with  this  suggestion,  multitudes  received 
Holy  Communion,  and  each  received  from  the  Fathers,  at  the 
hands  of  an  acolyte,  as  a  precious  memento  of  the  occasion,  a 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


209 


medal  blessed  by  Pius  IX  at  the  time  of  the  visit  of  Very  Rev. 
A.  Varsi,  the  present  Superior  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in 
this  city. 

The  decorations  of  the  church,  by  their  magnificence,  mani- 
fested the  ardor  of  affection  and  reverence  in  which  the  Holy 
Pontiff  is  held  by  the  Fathers,  many  of  whom  are  Italians  and 
were  personal  acquaintances  of  His  Holiness  during  his  lifetime. 

Thousands  of  yards  of  soft  black  and  white  material  encir- 
cled the  walls  around  the  ceiling  and  gallery  fronts,  looped  in 
graceful  festoons  and  fastened  with  rosettes  in  that  studied 
negligence  or  severity  of  plainness  which,  without  sacrificing 
the  beauty  of  the  drapings,  speaks  eloquently  of  the  real 
mourner.  The  hangings  in  the  vestibule  were  arranged  in 
exquisite  taste,  falling  in  heavy  plaitings  and  edged  with  white 
fringe.  The  eighteen  pillars  which  support  the  galleries  were 
covered  closely  with  black,  as  were  also  the  entire  walls  of  the 
chancel  and  arched  ceiling  of  the  sanctuary,  the  altar-piece  of 
which,  covered  also  in  black,  was  rendered  very  effective  by  a 
massive  white  cross  of  stately  proportions  which  appeared  as 
if  planted  in  front  of  it,  and  was  brought  into  bold  relief  by 
the  black  background. 

Twelve  pews  had  been  removed  from  the  body  of  the 
church,  directly  in  front  of  the  high  altar,  to  give  space  for  the 
dais  that  was  to  serve  as  the  foundation  supporting  the 
catafalque  and  memorial  monument.  This  dais  arose  in  a  suc- 
cession of  five  stages,  or  steps,  painted  in  close  imitation  of 
black-veined  marble;  and  on  these  were  arranged  innumerable 
bouquets  of  flowers  in  costly  vases  of  Bohemian  and  other 
rare  and  exquisite  wares;  delicate  wreaths  of  pure  white 
camellias,  interwoven  with  religious  designs — the  anchor  of 
hope,  the  cross  of  faith,  the  heart  of  charity,  the  coat  of  arms 
of  the  dead  Pontiff — all  with  the  most  cunning  skill  of  the 
florist's  art.  On  the  floor  stood  six  tall  candlesticks  surround- 
ing the  catafalque;  on  the  upper  steps  at  the  four  corners  a 
large  gilt  candelabrum,  bearing  nine  lights  and  a  very  large 
bouquet;  and  in  every  available  spot  were  small  but  costly 
candelabra  bearing  wax  candles. 

On  this  black-veined  marble  dais  rested  what  seemed,  to 
the  mind's  eye,  the  coffin  and  the  earthly  remains  of  him  who 


210  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

a  few  days  since  swayed  over  loving  hearts  the  mightiest  scepter 
that  earth  can  know — a  spiritual  scepter  that  commands  hearts 
and  souls.  Draped  in  a  very  rich  gold-fringed  silk  pall,  and  at 
the  head  resting  on  a  black  velvet  cushion  fringed  also  with 
gold,  was  the  triple  crown — a  silver  and  gold  tiara, — a  wonder- 
ful triumph  of  the  decorator's  art.  It  seemed,  indeed,  the  lying 
in  state  of  a  right  royal  monarch,  one  not  disowned  by  an 
envious  brotherhood. 

A  space  of  about  seven  feet  by  five  occupied  by  the  cata- 
falque was  marked  by  four  short  columns,  formed  in  clusters 
of  three,  and  painted  in  imitation  of  red  porphyry,  which  sup- 
ported the  base  of  the  finely-proportioned  monumental  obelisk 
in  white  marble  rising  grandly  thirty-two  feet,  and  terminated 
by  an  elegant  cross  that  almost  reached  to  the  frescoes  of  the 
roof. 

The  face  of  the  pedestal  of  the  obelisk,  looking  towards  the 
entrance,  presented  a  fine  portrait  of  the  benignant  Pius,  by 
Tojetti,  the  Italian  Catholic  artist,  who  boasts  of  numbering 
among  his  patrons  the  illustrious  Pope.  It  is  said  that  in  a 
little  over  a  day  he  completed  this,  from  an  original  brought 
by  the  Superior  from  Rome.  The  portrait  is  a  bust  robed 
in  red  vestments  and  surrounded  by  a  crown  composed,  the 
lower  portion,  of  oak  leaves  with  the  young  acorns,  significant 
of  stability  and  fortitude,  so  characteristic  of  Pius  IX;  and 
the  upper  portion,  of  the  Victoria  laurel  also  putting  forth 
its  fruit. 

The  shaft  of  the  obelisk  surmounting  this  portrait  bore 
in  fine  lettering  the  following  inscription: 

'Pius  IX,  died  February  7th,  1878.  Hail,  Victorious  Spirit! 
"Our  soul  hath  been  delivered  out  of  the  snares  of  the  Fowlers." 
Ps.  cxxiii :  7. 

"As  to  the  rest  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  Crown  of  Justice." 
II  Tim.  iv :  8.' 

The  opposite  face  of  the  shaft  looking  towards  the  altar: 

'Pius  IX,  created  Archbishop,  June  3rd,  1827.  Hail,  anointed 
of  the  Lord !  "In  all  things  show  thyself  an  example  of  good 
works,  in  doctrine,  in  integrity,  in  gravity,  instructing  us."  Tit. 
ii:  7,  12.' 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        211 

We  are  told  that  seven  of  these  decorators  worked  night 
and  day  while  the  ladies  of  the  congregation  were  making  the 
festoons,  rosettes,  etc.,  etc.,  for  their  use,  in  order  to  procure 
the  effects  we  have  essayed  to  describe;  and  those  spectators 
will  readily  believe  it  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  catch  sight 
of  the  dazzling  view  at  the  moment  when  the  congregation 
of  over  three  thousand  souls  bowed  in  adoration  during  the 
elevation  of  the  King  of  Kings — the  Pontiff  of  Pontiffs — whose 
faithful  Vicar  was  commanding  such  marks  of  veneration. 

The  hundreds  of  wax  tapers  had  previously  been  lighted, 
and  illuminated  the  white  marble  obelisk  rising  with  such  a 
surprising  beauty  from  the  triply  columned  pillars  of  red 
porphyry;  and  all  the  floral  offerings  and  rich  candelabra,  and 
the  smiling  face  of  the  Pontiff,  encircled  in  the  emblematic  oak 
and  laurel  crown,  and  the  magnificent  pall  and  shining  tiara, 
all  were  aglow,  and  photographed  a  picture  within  the  eye  of 
the  beholder,  long  to  be  remembered.  At  two  other  moments 
the  scene  was  exceedingly  picturesque;  once  at  the  absolution, 
when  the  priests  and  boys  of  the  Sanctuary  Society,  in  rich 
lace  surplices,  surrounded  the  catafalque,  bearing  in  their  hands 
tall  candles;  and  again  during  the  sermon  when  as  Rev.  Father 
Buchard  pronounced  the  words,  'We  do  not  mourn  as  those 
without  hope,'  a  sudden  gleam  of  sunshine  broke  through  the 
clouds  that  had  darkened  the  sky,  with  a  startling  radiance  as 
if  in  response  to  the  sentiment. 

The  Office  of  the  Dead  was  chanted  at  half-past  nine, 
previous  to  the  Mass,  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and 
it  might  have  been  noticed  that  numbers  of  the  congregation 
were  silently  accompanying  them  reading  the  same  in  their 
books.  The  sanctuary  was  completely  filled  by  the  Fathers 
and  acolytes. 

The  following-named  gentlemen  were  honored  with  a  place 
as  pall-bearers :  Messrs.  F.  H.  Wensinger,  H.  D.  Dance,  D.  T. 
Murphy,  J.  J.  O'Brien,  James  R.  Kelly  and  Richard  Heney. 

Members  of  the  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  wearing 
the  crimson  badges  of  their  marshals,  acted  as  ushers,  and, 
considering  the  dense  crowd,  succeeded  in  keeping  the  aisles 
comparatively  clear. 


212  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

The  Celebrant  of  the  Mass  was  Very  Rev.  A.  Varsi,  the 
Superior.  He  was  assisted  by  Rev.  Father  Messea  as  deacon, 
and  by  Mr.  Collins,  S.  J.,  as  subdeacon.  Mr.  Crowley,  S.  J., 
the  director  of  the  Sanctuary  Society,  was  master  of  cere- 
monies." 

Some  two  weeks  later,  the  Philhistorian  Debating  Society 
which  had  again  and  again  covered  itself  with  glory,  received 
from  the  same  paper  the  following  commendatory  notice: 

"We  attended  the  literary  entertainment  given  by  this 
society  on  last  Monday  evening.  The  College  Hall,  where  it 
took  place,  was  well  crowded,  and  a  highly  appreciative  audience 
manifested  great  interest  in  the  proceedings.  The  principal 
feature  of  the  entertainment  consisted  in  a  debate  on  the  ques- 
tion, 'Has  every  male  adult  a  right  to  vote?'  and  the  arguments 
advanced  by  the  young  debaters  were  very  ably  and  forcibly  put. 
Where  all  were  so  excellent,  it  may  be  invidious  to  single  out 
any  individual,  but  the  natural,  self-possessed  and  eloquent 
delivery  of  Master  James  D.  Phelan  elicited  general  commenda- 
tion. The  music  furnished  by  the  college  orchestra  was  of  a 
very  high  order  of  excellence. 

It  is  well  that  the  Catholic  community  should  encourage,  by 
their  presence  at  such  exhibitions,  not  only  the  pupils,  but  also 
the  members  of  those  religious  communities  who  are  working 
so  laboriously  for  the  well-being  of  the  entire  Church  and  State 
of  California.  It  is  a  great  source  of  pride  and  pleasure  to  Catho- 
lics to  look  around  them  and  see  what  has  been  done  in  a  young 
city  like  San  Francisco  by  members  of  their  faith.  These  three 
splendid  institutions,  St.  Ignatius  College,  St.  Mary's  and  the 
Sacred  Heart,  educating  about  two  thousand  of  our  Catholic 
youth,  give  bright  and  cheery  prospects  for  the  future." 

On  Saturday  evening,  March  23rd,  His  Excellency,  Most 
Rev.  Dr.  George  Conroy,  Bishop  of  Ardagh  and  Clonmacnoise, 
Ireland,  and,  under  Pope  Pius  IX,  Apostolic  Delegate  to  Canada, 
arrived  somewhat  unexpectedly  in  the  city.  It  had  been  thought 
that  he  would  spend  a  few  days  with  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop 
O'Connell  in  Marysville,  several  of  whose  priests  had  been,  of 
old,  pupils  of  Bishop  Conroy.  He  was  accompanied  by  Right 
Reverend  Dr.  O'Connor  of  Omaha,  who  returned  to  his  diocese 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        213 

in  a  few  days,  and  his  secretary,  Rev.  Dr.  O'Connor.  About  the 
end  of  March,  he  had  a  reception  in  Santa  Clara;  on  the  8th  of 
April,  at  St.  Mary's  College;  and  on  the  12th,  at  St.  Ignatius. 
A  literary  entertainment  was  followed  by  some  scientific  experi- 
ments performed  in  the  cabinet  by  Father  Wenzel;  and  these, 
in  turn,  gave  place  to  a  dinner  at  which  His  Grace,  the  Arch- 
bishop, was  present,  with  many  priests  and  prominent  laymen. 

In  the  faculty  this  year  there  were  several  changes.  Fathers 
Amandus  Wenzel,  Caesar  A.  Barchi  and  Mr.  Jeremiah  F.  Collins, 
S.  J.,  were  transferred  to  Santa  Clara,  and  Fathers  Joseph  M. 
Neri,  Francis  Veyret,  Celestine  Galliano  and  Joseph  Sasia 
replaced  them.  Father  Joseph  Bixio  departed  for  Australia  in 
company  with  Father  Kelly  of  the  Irish  Province. 

On  St.  Aloysius  Day,  his  patronal  feast,  Father  Varsi 
addressed  the  following  communication  to  His  Grace,  the  Most 
Rev.  Archbishop: 

**  "San  Francisco,  June  21st,   1878. 

Most  Reverend  Archbishop : 

I  have  received  information  from  Very  Rev.  Father  General 
Beckx  that  it  has  been  decided  in  Rome  by  the  proper  authority, 
that  we  are  at  liberty  to  remove  St.  Ignatius  Church  and  College 
to  lot  74  of  the  Western  Addition ;  and  Father  General  says  that 
we  should  commence  the  building  at  once. 

This  decision  relieves  me  of  a  very  great  anxiety;  but  yet  I 
should  feel  very  much  grieved  if  I  were  to  proceed  without  first 
obtaining  Your  Grace's  blessing  on  it.  I  therefore  most  hum- 
bly beg  Your  Grace,  for  the  love  of  Jesus'  Sacred  Heart  and  of 
St.  Aloysius,  whose  feast  we  celebrate  to-day,  to  grant  us  this 
favor ;  for  which  we  shall  ever  feel  most  grateful. 

Hoping  to  receive  a  favorable  answer  soon,  I  remain,  with 

the  most  sincere  respect, 

Your  Grace's  very  humble  servant  in  Christ, 

,,  A.  Varsi,  S.  J. 

Most  Rev.  Jos.  S.  Alemany,  O.  P., 

Archbishop  of  San  Francisco." 

His  Grace's  answer  came  on  August  5th,  for  naturally  he 
had  to  await  official  information  from  Rome  on  the  subject,  and, 


214  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

until  this  had  been  received,  he  was  not  in  a  position  to  reply. 
On  that  day  he  penned  the  following  answer: 

**  "San  Francisco,  Aug.  5th,   1878. 

Very  Reverend  and  dear  Sir: 

The  Cardinal  Prefect  informed  me  that  considering  what  has 
been  done — the  immense  injury  that  would  accrue  to  you  if  your 
new  building  were  not  built  on  your  new  lot,  purchased  with  a 
most  heavy  sum,  etc. — you  may  be  allowed  to  proceed :  conse- 
quently, I  can  have  no  objection." 

He  then  goes  on  to  state  what  he  judges  would  be  fair  if 
the  erection  of  the  church  on  the  new  site  should  cause  injury  to 
churches  planned  or  already  existing,  and  signs  himself : 
"Yours  truly  in  Christ, 

ij.   S.   Alemany,  A.   S.   F. 
Very  Rev.  A.  Varsi,  S.  J.,  Superior." 

As  Father  Varsi  knew  that  the  matter  had  been  definitely 
settled,  and  as  he  had  advised  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  of 
the  fact;  and  as,  moreover,  every  day  added  to  the  interest  on 
the  $200,000  spent  upon  the  lot  which  for  eight  months  had  lain 
idle;  and  as,  lastly,  plans,  and  specifications,  and  an  estimate  of 
expenses  had  been  referred  to  Very  Rev.  Father  Beckx  and 
had  been  approved,  he  considered  that  no  time  was  to  be  lost 
in  putting  his  hand  to  the  work.  The  first  plan  was  to  have 
the  church  face  on  Van  Ness  Avenue,  with  the  college  on  one 
side  of  it  and  the  residence  on  the  other ;  but  this  idea  was  aban- 
doned, among  other  reasons,  on  account  of  the  clouds  of  dust 
which,  at  certain  periods  of  the  year,  sweep  down  that  thorough- 
fare, and  which  would  render  neatness  and  cleanness  in  the 
church  a  serious  problem.  The  present  plan  was  therefore 
formed,  in  which  the  church  fronts  on  Hayes  Street,  residence 
and  college  springing  out  from  it  in  the  form  of  an  imperfect 
E,  a  series  of  rooms  and  corridors  running  along  the  side  of  the 
church  giving  direct  and  easy  communication  between  church 
and  house  and  college. 

The  plans  were  made  by  Father  Varsi  and  Mr.  Hugh 
McKeadney.  Mr.  McKeadney  was  selected  to  supervise  the 
work.  What  we  have  called  the  "Period  of  Development"  was 
over;  "Completion"  was  beginning. 


FATHER  ALOYSIUS  VARSI,  S.  J. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Bids  for  six  or  seven  million  bricks  were  immediately  solic- 
ited, and,  as  the  Patent  Brick  Company  gave  the  lowest  figure, 
the  contract  was  awarded  to  it.  Presently  there  was  no  end  of 
trouble.  The  Patent  Brick  Company,  it  seems,  employed  Chinese 
to  put  the  bricks  for  baking  into  the  heated  ovens,  labor 
which,  owing  to  its  hardships,  it  was  said  white  men  refused  to 
do.  Immediately  the  Brick  Makers'  Protective  Association 
was  up  in  arms ;  delegations  waited  upon  Father  Varsi ;  the  daily 
papers  were  full  of  the  subject;  and  the  sandlot  at  times  dis- 
cussed the  matter  in  rather  heated  terms.  These  were  the  days 
of  Anti-Chinese  agitation  in  San  Francisco,  and  what  in  nor- 
mal times  would  not  have  attracted  a  glance,  was  magnified 
into  huge  proportions  by  the  heated  imagination  of  passion,  or 
the  lust  of  power  of  designing  men. 

Hard  times,  too,  had  their  part  to  play  in  the  troubles  of 
the  hour.  Crops,  owing  to  a  dearth  of  rain,  had  been  scant  in 
1877;  and  the  closing  months  of  the  year,  and  the  early  days 
of  1878  had  threatened  the  State  with  a  repetition  of  the  calam- 
ity. A  pastoral  letter,  calling  for  prayers  for  rain,  was  circulated 
on  January  12th,  1878,  in  all  the  churches  of  the  Archdiocese. 
Rain,  indeed,  soon  came  in  abundance,  but  the  parched  earth 
could  not  drink  it  all  in,  and  serious  floods  in  many  places  were 
the  result.  Labor  meetings  in  which  inflammatory  speeches  were 
made  and  violence  threatened,  were  of  constant  occurrence;  and 
so  threatening  did  matters  appear  that  His  Grace,  the  Arch- 
bishop, deemed  it  advisable  to  issue  a  pastoral  on  April  5m, 
warning  the  faithful  against  evil  plotters,  and  counseling  the 
putting  away  of  enmities,  emulations,  contentions,  wraths  and 
quarrels. 

Thousands  and  thousands  of  men  were  idle,  while  steam- 
ship after  steamship  was  unloading  its  hordes  of  coolies  at  our 
wharves.  With  the  minds  of  the  laboring  classes  thus  excited, 
it  is  not  hard  to  imagine  what  an  immense  conflagration  might 
follow  from  the  merest  spark. 

215 


216  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

The  tone  of  the  press  was  not,  in  general,  friendly  to  us 
at  the  outset ;  for,  while  highly  commendatory  of  the  farsighted- 
ness and  energy  of  the  Fathers  who  planned  in  those  troubled 
times  this  new  and  substantial  ornament  for  the  city,  the  papers 
carefully  avoided  anything  that  might  bring  themselves  into 
conflict  with  organized  labor. 

"A  meeting  of  the  Brick  Makers'  Protective  Association," 
says  the  Call  of  July  2nd,  "was  held  yesterday  afternoon  at  Room 
85,  Montgomery  Block.  After  disposing  of  routine  business,  the 
members  fell  to  discussing  the  contemplated  erection  of  a  Roman 
Catholic  Church  on  Van  Ness  Avenue  and  Hayes  Street,  and 
the  action  of  Rev.  Father  Maraschi  thereto.  It  was  stated  by 
the  members  that  the  Reverend  Clergyman  had  contracted,  or 
is  about  contracting,  for  over  four  million  bricks  of  Chinese 
manufacture.  He  had  been  waited  upon  by  members  of  brick- 
making  firms  where  white  labor  is  employed,  and  these  made 
offer  to  supply  the  bricks  at  the  same  cost  as  the  Chinamen; 
but  they  had  received  no  encouragement  from  the  Reverend 
Father.  In  fact  he  declined  to  treat  with  them.  Some  very 
bitter  comments  were  made  by  the  members  at  their  meeting 
yesterday  over  the  proceeding.  White  labor,  it  was  said,  was 
employed  in  response  to  a  general  demand;  but  unless  the 
firms  employing  it  receive  more  encouragement  than  here- 
tofore, the  men  will  have  to  be  discharged.  The  subject  of 
supplying  bricks  to  the  city  government  by  Chinese  firms  was 
also  debated." 

Under  the  title,  "A  Question  for  those  Concerned,"  one 
of  the  dailies  on  the  3rd  published  a  bitter  attack  upon  the 
Fathers.  "The  Jesuit  Fathers  of  this  city  purpose,"  it  says, 
"to  build  a  very  large  church  on  Van  Ness  Avenue.  It  is 
estimated  that  a  total  of  about  fifteen  million  bricks  will  be 
used  in  the  building.  In  the  bidding  for  the  contract  for  the 
number  required  this  year  (four  millions),  the  lowest  bidder 
was  the  Chinese  company.  Sooner,  however,  than  have  the 
contract  go  to  the  Chinese,  the  Brick  Makers'  Protective  Union 
agreed  to  furnish  the  bricks  at  the  price  that  company  stated 
in  the  bid.  The  contract  is  not  yet  awarded.  The  Union  com- 
prises seventeen  firms,  and  employment  is  given  to  white  men 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        217 

only.  A  force  of  fifteen  hundred  is  now  employed.  The 
Chinese  company  employ  only  coolies,  as  a  matter  of  course. 
There  ought  not,  in  the  first  place,  have  been  any  opportunity 
given  to  the  Chinese  company  to  put  in  a  bid;  there  ought 
not  be  a  brick  made  by  coolie  labor  in  the  edifice.  The 
money  raised  for  the  building,  unless  we  greatly  err,  has  been 
contributed  mainly,  if  not  entirely,  by  white  men  and  women. 
Much  of  it,  probably  the  larger  share,  has  been  received  from 
the  working  classes — mostly  from  those  of  Irish  birth  and 
blood.  These  same  classes  will  be  depended  upon  to  contribute 
to  finish  the  work.  Among  them  are  hundreds  who  make  brick 
in  the  Union  yards.  Against  them  in  sharpest,  exhausting  com- 
petition, come  the  coolies,  who  can  live  cheaper  and  work  at 
lower  wages,  because  they  have  no  families  to  support,  no 
homes  to  maintain.  They  are  not  citizens.  They  do  not  come 
here  to  found  homes;  but  solely  as  slaves,  to  make  money 
enough  to  return  to  China  and  live  as  freemen  in  their  own 
cheap  mode.  Yet  is  it  against  these  miserable  serfs  that  free 
white  men  are  forced  into  competition  in  the  matter  of  work 
and  wages.  This  is  bad  enough  at  best,  but  it  is  much  worse, 
almost  intolerable,  that  the  money,  the  aggregate  of  the  little 
by  little  contributions  they  give  toward  building  a  church 
edifice — sums  which  compel  them  to  pinch  themselves  in  food 
and  clothing — should  be  paid  to  maintain  these  coolies  in  the 
employment  from  which  they  are  themselves  thereby  driven. 
In  other  words  their  own  voluntary  contributions  to  the  church 
are  used  to  support  their  coolie  competitors,  and  to  drive  them- 
selves to  penury  and  starvation;  and  this,  too,  by  those  who, 
it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  would  be  the  last  of  any  in  the 
community  to  so  apply  the  money  they  get  from  these  poor 
persons  of  their  own  faith,  as  to  give  it  to  the  heathens  who 
crowd  the  white  laborer  into  idleness  and  suffering.  The  con- 
tract ought  not  to  be  given  to  the  Chinese  company,  nor  to 
any  company  that  employs  coolies  to  make  bricks.  It  ought 
to  be  given  to  the  company  that  employs  white  men." 

The  promptness  with  which  this  bitter  and  unmerited  attack 
bore  fruit,  was  doubtless  a  serious  warning  to  the  writer  to 
be  more  just  and  prudent  in   the  use  of  his  pen.     On   the 


218  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

following  day,  July  4th,  about  12:15  p.  m.,  just  as  the  end  of 
the  great  procession  was  riling  past  the  Fathers'  residence  on 
Market  Street,  smoke  was  seen  issuing  from  the  west  side  of 
the  wooden  college  on  Jessie  Street.  The  fire  was  evidently 
of  incendiary  origin,  for  it  had  been  started  behind  the  statue  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  close  by  the  door  at  the  end  of  the  lowest 
corridor.  An  alarm  was  immediately  given,  and  the  flames 
were  extinguished  by  the  firemen  after  damage  to  the  extent 
of  about  one  or  two  hundred  dollars  had  been  done.  The 
attempt  had  failed,  but  fear  filled  every  breast  that  it  might  be 
repeated.  It  was  evident,  therefore,  that  no  time  should  be 
lost  in  getting  a  true  statement  of  facts  before  the  public.  On 
the  5th,  the  Chronicle  in  a  short  paragraph  publishes  a  refuta- 
tion of  the  calumny  of  the  Brick  Makers'  Association. 

"M.  H.  O'Connor,  president  of  the  Ninth  Ward  Workin- 
man's  Club,"  it  says,  "reports  that  yesterday  he  had  an  inter- 
view with  the  Rev.  Father  Maraschi  in  reference  to  the  letting 
of  the  brick  work  for  the  new  Jesuit  College  on  the  corner 
of  Van  Ness  Avenue  and  Hayes  Street  to  Chinese,  and  was 
informed  by  the  clergyman  (who  denied  the  truth  of  the  state- 
ments made  concerning  himself  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Brick 
Makers'  Protective  Association)  that  he  was  treasurer  of  the 
college  but  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  letting  of  the  contract 
in  question.  If  it  was  known,  however,  that  the  Patent  Brick 
Company  employed  Chinese,  their  bid  would  not  be  accepted 
by  the  college,  as  the  Fathers  were  opposed  to  the  employing 
of  Chinese  in  preference  to  white  men." 

On  the  same  day,  Father  Varsi  wrote  a  refutation  of  the 
accusations  made  against  the  Fathers,  and  on  the  6th  sent  it 
for  insertion  to  the  paper  which  had  printed  the  attack.  On 
being  told  that  his  communication  had  arrived  too  late,  fearing 
delays  when  so  much  depended  on  promptness,  he  had  the  letter 
inserted  in  the  Call  of  the  7th. 

"The  following  letter  was  sent  in  at  too  late  an  hour  yester- 
day for  insertion  in  one  of  our  contemporaries,  and  as  it  is 
desirable  that  publicity  should  be  given  it  without  unnecessary 
delay,  it  is  inserted  in  to-day's  Call: 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        219 

My  dear  Editor: 

Allow  me  in  fairness  to  contradict  some  statements  you 
have  been  pleased  to  make  in  an  editorial  under  the  caption, 
'A  Question  for  those  Concerned,'  contained  in  the  issue  of 
the  3rd  inst.,  which,  owing  to  my  absence  from  the  city,  has 
not  come  to  my  notice  ere  this. 

I  am  sorry  that  you  have  been  utterly  misinformed  con- 
cerning our  transactions  with  a  certain  brick-making  company. 
Had  you  been  more  discreet  in  accepting  such  information, 
you  would  have  been  more  cautious  in  writing  remarks  and 
insinuations  calculated  to  mislead  your  readers  and  prejudice 
them  in  our  disfavor.  Therefore,  I  deem  myself,  in  duty  bound, 
to  give  a  categorical  denial  to  each  one  of  them. 

First  of  all,  it  is  not  true  that  we  are  going  to  build  only 
a  large  church  on  Van  Ness  Avenue.  We  intend  to  occupy 
the  lot  with  the  whole  establishment,  viz:  church,  college  and 
Fathers'  residence. 

Second.  We  have  not  entered  upon  any  contract  with  any 
Chinese  brick  manufacturing  company,  a  company  which  has 
no  existence,  but  we  have  dealt  with  a  company  of  white  men 
which  employs  Chinese  but  not  to  the  exclusion  of  white  men; 
a  circumstance  which  we  were  ignorant  of,  since  the  transac- 
tion passed  through  a  third  party  who  was  equally  ignorant 
of  the  fact. 

Third.  It  is  not  true  that  we  need  fifteen  million  of  bricks 
to  carry  out  our  enterprise.  Seven  million,  perhaps,  will  be 
more  than  we  shall  need  for  all  purposes. 

Fourth.  It  is  not  true  that  any  of  the  seventeen  companies 
of  the  Protective  Union  has  offered  a  bid  as  low  as  that  of 
the  Patent  Brick  Company,  and  we  are  ready,  if  challenged, 
to  give  an  affidavit  to  prove  our  disclaimer. 

Lastly,  it  is  not  true  that  the  money  raised  for  the  building 
'has  been  contributed  mainly,  if  not  entirely,  by  white  men 
and  women.'  We  have  commenced  to  borrow  money  from 
the  Hibernia  Bank,  and,  in  the  progress  of  time,  we  shall  borrow 
from  the  same  or  others,  according  to  circumstances.  We 
have  entered  upon  this  enterprise  in  the  hope  of  selling  to 
a    proper    advantage    the    premises    which    we    now    occupy; 


220  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

which  premises  have  not  been  procured  with  the  money  of  the 
people,  as  other  diocesan  ecclesiastical  properties  have  been,  but 
with  our  own  money,  and  by  taking  upon  ourselves  heavy  respon- 
sibilities. We  have  never  done  any  begging,  neither  by  sub- 
scription nor  otherwise,  and  we  never  shall. 

Submitting  ourselves  jointly  to  personal  sacrifices,  we 
trust  in  Divine  Providence  to  be  able  to  carry  out  our  enter- 
prise for  the  good  of  our  community  at  large,  but  more  espe- 
cially for  our  Catholic  population.  I  repeat,  we  shall  not  beg; 
but  should  any  kind  benefactor  offer  us  some  donation,  we 
will  not  be  sorry  to  receive  it  with  sincere  thankfulness.  The 
simple  collection  we  take  up  in  the  church  as  usual  on  Sundays 
and  other  feasts,  scarcely  suffices  to  cover  our  regular  expenses, 
and  much  less  to  allow  us  to  accumulate  treasures.  If  the 
members  of  the  congregation  put  their  mite  into  the  plate,  be 
sure  that  they  get  back  more  than  the  full  value,  by  our  spiritual 
ministrations.  Should  your  paper  be  incredulous,  we  would 
invite  it  to  compare  its  account  book  with  ours,  and  after 
deducting  all  regular  expenses  for  keeping  up  the  respective 
establishments,  we  would  be  willing  to  exchange  all  ours  for 
its  honest  profits. 

Before  closing  this  communication  I  beg  to  remark  here 
that  one  of  the  main  considerations  which  has  urged  us  to 
hurry  this  work  just  at  the  present  time,  has  been  that  of  giving 
some  lucrative  occupation  to  workingmen.  And  should  we,  in 
self  respect,  be  compelled  by  the  undue  dictations  of  your  pub- 
lication to  adjourn  the  work  to  another  indefinite  season,  the 
workingmen  would  be  the  losers.     I  remain,  dear  sir, 

Yours  respectfully, 

A.   Varsi,   S.   J. 
St.  Ignatius  College,  July  5th,  1878." 

Father  Varsi's  direct  and  pungent  letter  produced  the  desired 
effect.  The  paper  in  question  threw  the  blame  of  misin- 
formation on  the  Call;  disclaimed  any  intention  of  doing 
aught  else  than  obtain  that  the  contract  "should  be  so  awarded 
as  that  white  men,  and  not  coolies,  should  receive  the  benefit 
of  it" ;  protested  that  "nothing  was  further  from  its  purpose 
than  to  misrepresent,  wrong  or  harm  the  Society  of  Jesus,  or 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        221 

the  faithful  and  devoted  Fathers  who  grace  and  strengthen  the 
Society."  "Our  paper,"  it  goes  on  to  say,  "has  a  clear,  unbroken 
record  in  this  respect.  We  too  well  remember  the  sagacious 
prediction,  and  also  the  timely  and  salutary  warnings  and 
invincible  arguments  of  the  brilliant  and  eloquent  Father 
Buchard,  pronounced  in  this  city  many  years  ago,  in  regard  to 
the  Chinese  pest  so  firmly  and  alarmingly  fastened  upon  this 
Coast,  to  fail  in  admiration  of  the  efforts  of  the  Society  to 
abate  the  now  almost  ineradicable  evil.  And  it  was  because  of 
this  remembrance  and  this  admiration  that  we  wondered  how, 
on  this  occasion,  the  Fathers  could  consent  to  give  contract  or 
employment  to  coolies  in  brick-making  for  their  new  college 
and  church  building,  which  we  hope  to  see  completed  and 
bounteously  endowed,  to  be  at  once  an  ornament  to  the  city  and 
a  blessing  to  all." 

In  the  Alta  of  the  same  date,  an  account  is  given  of  one  of 
the  sandlot  meetings.  "Soon  after  opening  his  remarks,"  it 
says,  "Kearney  took  up  the  brick  question,  and  said  that  he 
was  credibly  informed  that  the  Patent  Brick  Company  had 
twenty  millions,  and  would  contract  to  furnish  the  Jesuit  Fathers 
with  six  or  seven  million  brick,  all  made  by  white  labor  only. 
(Cheers.)  He  knew  it  was  a  somewhat  delicate  question  for 
him  to  handle,  but  he  was  going  to  take  the  bull  by  the  horns, 
and  twist  the  horns  off.  The  man  who  made  a  fuss  about  bricks 
didn't  go  to  the  right  parties.  The  president  of  the  college  had 
guaranteed  to  him  that  no  brick  should  go  into  the  build- 
ing that  was  manufactured  by  Chinese  labor.  'He  further 
stated,'  said  Kearney,  'that  in  order  to  see  that  what  he  was 
telling  was  true,  we,  that  is  the  sandlot  (laughter),  might  select 
a  man  to  watch  these  people,  and  see  that  they  didn't  put  in  a 
single  brick  that  was  made  by  Chinese  labor.'  Is  that  satisfac- 
tory? (Yes.)  We  insist  upon  it  that  no  building  shall  be 
erected  in  this  city  by  Chinese  labor  or  material.  How's  that? 
(Good!  That's  way  up!)  I  told  the  Reverend  Gentleman  that 
many  of  my  friends  insisted  on  me  calling  an  indignation 
meeting  in  the  lot  where  their  building  is  to  go  up,  but,  on  his 
assuring  me  that  no  Chinese  brick  should  be  used,  the  matter 
is  settled.     But  we  must  watch." 


222  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

About  the  same  time,  Mr.  McKeadney,  the  architect,  pub- 
lished a  statement  that  he  alone,  and  not  the  Fathers,  was  respon- 
sible for  the  contract,  and  that,  at  the  time  of  its  making,  he  was 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  Chinese  had  any  hand  in  the 
manufacture  of  the  bricks.  "Having  attended  for  the  last  twenty 
years  to  the  business  of  the  Fathers  in  the  building  line,"  he 
says,  "and  having  been  retained  by  them  in  the  same  capacity 
for  the  erection  of  the  new  building,  I  was  entrusted  with  pur- 
chasing the  necessary  materials,  etc.,  for  the  same.  .  .  . 
Neither  the  Fathers  nor  I  knew  what  particular  sort  of  labor 
or  mechanism  any  of  the  competing  parties  had  employed  in 
the  past,  or  proposed  to  employ  in  the  future.  We  simply  wanted 
first-class  hard  brick,  for  which  we  were  to  pay  hard  dollars.  It 
did  not  occur  to  us  to  demand  a  stipulation  that  the  brick  should 
be  made  exclusively  by  white  men,  any  more  than  it  did  to 
the  sellers  to  demand  that  the  gold  of  the  coin  should  be 
mined  by  such." 

The  matter  was  thus,  to  all  appearances,  amicably  settled, 
though  these  early  days  of  July  were  days  of  anxious  worry 
for  Fathers  Varsi  and  Pinasco.  Even  on  August  6th,  the 
Evening  Post  published  an  article  on  the  same  subject,  indicat- 
ing that,  in  spite  of  the  best  of  will,  the  course  of  events  had 
proceeded  less  smoothly  than  could  have  been  desired.  After 
stating  the  facts  that  the  Fathers  had  invited  bids  on  bricks, 
and  that  the  Patent  Brick  Company  had  promised  for  $9.50  per 
thousand  what  others  had  asked  $13.00,  it  goes  on  to  say: 

"The  point  was  then  made  by  the  workingmen,  that  the 
cheaper  brick  was  the  production  of  Chinese  labor.  The 
authorities  of  the  church,  whose  sympathies  are  naturally  with 
the  white  laborer,  at  once  set  to  work  to  see  if  this  feature  of 
servile  employment  could  not  be  obviated.  The  result  was  that 
Father  Varsi  agreed  with  the  Patent  Brick  Company  to  give 
half  a  dollar  more — that  is  $10.00 — per  thousand,  if  made  by 
white  men.  In  order  that  no  bricks  might  be  delivered  other 
than  as  agreed,  a  mold  was  stipulated  to  be  used  that  should 
identify  the  manufactured  articles.  Thus  far  all  went  smoothly. 
The  Patent  Brick  Company  discharged  one  hundred  and  fifty 
Chinamen,  and  now  have  two  hundred  white  men  engaged  in 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        223 

making  these  bricks.  Just  here,  however,  an  unexpected  trouble 
arises.  It  is  found,  on  trial,  that  there  is  one  portion  of  the 
work  where  white  labor  is  unwilling  or  unable  to  compete. 
This  is  in  taking  the  heated  bricks  from  the  ovens.  About 
twenty  men  are  so  employed,  and  the  ovens  reach  240  degrees 
of  heat.  The  Chinamen  who  have  been  engaged  for  some  time 
at  this  work  are  said  to  be  bleached  white  with  the  intense  fires 
to  which  they  are  subjected.  .  .  .  Just  here  comes  in 
the  necessity  of  a  little  common  sense  in  the  matter.  .  .  . 
It  is  impossible  to  correct  all  the  evils  of  this  Chinese  plague  in 
a  moment  or  a  month,  and  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  always 
do  the  best  we  can  under  the  circumstances,  never  throwing 
away  an  advantage  because  it  is  not  greater." 

The  undertaking  was  a  big  one  for  God's  greater  glory, 
perhaps  we  should  not  be  astonished  at  the  throes  of  its  birth. 
On  July  3rd,  Mr.  McKeadney  took  up  his  residence  on  the  new 
site  to  direct  operations;  on  the  8th,  the  workmen  began  to 
fence  the  place  in;  and  three  days  later  the  foundations  were 
begun.  On  the  20th  of  the  following  month  this  gracious  cable- 
gram was  received  from  the  Holy  Father : 

"San   Francisco,  Aug.   20th,    1878.     5:12  P.M. 
Rev.  A.  Varsi, 

841  Market  St.,  San  Francisco,  Calif.: 
II  S.  Padre  benedice  con  effusione  di  cuore  nuova  fabrica 
di  chiesa  e  collegio. 

S.   Card.   Nina." 

"San   Francisco,   Aug.   20th,    1878.     5:12  P.M. 
Rev.   A.    Varsi, 

841  Market  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal.: 
The  Holy  Father  with  all  his  heart  blesses  the  new  building 
containing  church  and  college. 

S.  Card.  Nina." 
A  short  time  before  the  arrival  of  this  blessing  from  the 
fatherly  heart  of  Leo  XIII,  Father  Varsi  had  left  the  college 
with  Father  Manogue  for  a  trip  to  Reno,  Nevada,  and  did  not 
receive  the  consoling  message  until  his  return  on  the  24th. 
With  the  blessing  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ  on  the  project,  his 
generous  heart  might  well  feel  encouraged  to  go  forward  with 


224  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

confidence.  On  the  20th  of  October,  the  foundations  were 
ready  for  the  cornerstone,  and,  in  the  absence  of  His  Grace, 
Archbishop  Alemany,  Rt.  Rev.  Eugene  O'Connell,  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  of  Grass  Valley,  was  selected  to  perform  the  ceremony. 
That  His  Grace  intended  to  officiate,  we  know  from  his 
letter  stating  his  inability  to  make  an  address  on  the  day  first 
appointed,  viz :  the  first  Sunday  of  November : 

**  "San  Francisco,  Sept.  26th,   1878. 

Very  Reverend  dear  Sir: 

I  am  sorry  to  state  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  make  an  address 
on  the  occasion  of  the  laying  of  the  cornerstone  of  your  new 
St.  Ignatius,  the  first  Sunday  in  November,  when  I  expect,  with 
God's  blessing,  to  perform  the  ceremony.     .     .     . 
Very  respectfully, 

f  J.   S.   Alemany,  A.   S.   F. 
Very  Rev.  A.  Varsi,  S.  J.,  Supr." 

His  Lordship,  Rt.  Rev.  Eugene  O'Connell,  had  as  deacon, 
Father  Charles  Messea,  and  as  subdeacon,  Father  Joseph  Neri. 
Father  Henry  Imoda  was  master  of  ceremonies  and  Father 
James  A.  Rooney,  O.  P.,  orator.  Very  Rev.  Father  Villarasa, 
O.  P.,  Superior  of  the  Dominican  Fathers  on  the  Coast,  with 
several  members  of  his  Order;  Very  Rev.  John  J.  Prendergast, 
Vicar  General  of  the  Archdiocese,  with  many  of  the  secular 
clergy ;  Rev.  Brother  Justin  with  some  other  Christian  Brothers ; 
Rev.  A.  Varsi,  S.  J.,  Superior  of  the  Californian  Mission;  Rev. 
J.  Pinasco,  president  of  the  college,  with  the  Jesuit  Fathers 
and  scholastics  of  St.  Ignatius  and  Santa  Clara,  represented 
the  secular  clergy  and  religious  bodies  of  the  Archdiocese.  Mr. 
James  R.  Kelly,  grand  marshal,  with  his  aids,  F.  H.  Swett, 
T.  J.  Verdon,  John  Powers,  E.  J.  Le  Breton,  Judge  J.  Cooney, 
J.  O'Brien,  J.  M.  Sullivan,  J.  H.  Adams,  James  Hanley,  H.  K. 
Hobson,  J.  O'Kane,  Pat  Lynch,  Daniel  McDonald,  represented 
the  Catholic  laity  and  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality.  The  day  was 
an  ideal  one,  and  the  attendance  was  estimated  at  six  or 
seven  thousand. 

"Shortly  after  2  o'clock,"  says  an  account  of  the  time,  "a 
procession  was  formed  upon  the  grounds  in  the  following 
order:    Marshal  and  aids;   First   Regiment  Band;   MacMahon 


FATHER  JAMES  ROONEY,  O.  P. 


RT.    REV.    EUGENE    O'CONNELL,   D.    D. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         225 

Grenadier  Guard;  students  of  the  College  Sodality;  members  of 
the  Gentlemen's  Sodality;  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  in  uni- 
form ;  representatives  of  Catholic  societies ;  boys  of  the  Sanctuary 
Sodality;  faculty  and  clergy;  Bishop  O'Connell,  supported  by 
Fathers  Neri  and  Messea.  Commencing  at  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  lot,  the  procession  walked  east  to  the  center  of  the  church 
building.  Mounting  the  steps  there,  they  proceeded  to  a  plat- 
form at  the  Grove  Street  end. 

When  the  several  dignitaries  and  bodies  had  taken  their 
appointed  places,  the  exercises  were  opened  by  singing;  after 
which  the  Bishop  blessed  the  water  which  was  to  be  sprinkled 
upon  the  walls  and  cornerstone.  He  then  blessed  the  stone,  and 
Father  Buchard  read  the  following  English  translation  of  the 
Latin  document  to  be  placed  therein : 

A.   M.   D.    G. 

On  the  twentieth  day  of  October,  sacred  to  the  Purity  of 

the   Immaculate  Virgin   Mary,   in   the  year  of   our   Lord   one 

thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-eight, 

In  the   Pontificate   of 

Leo  XIII. 

Joseph   S.   Alemany 
Being  Archbishop  and  Metropolitan  of  the  City  of  San  Francisco ; 

Peter    Beckx, 
Prepositus-General   of  the   Society   of   Jesus; 

Aloysius    Varsi, 
Superior  of  the  Mission  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  California; 

John  Pinasco, 
Rector  of  the  College  of  St.  Ignatius  in  the  City  of  San  Francisco ; 

Rutherford    B.    Hayes, 
President  of  the  whole  United  States  of  North  America; 

William  Irwin, 
Governor  of   California; 

Andrew  J.    Bryant, 
Mayor  of  the  City  of   San   Francisco; 

In  presence  of  the  pupils  and  Sodalists  of  the  College, 
And  a  great  number  of  the  Faithful, 


226  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Eugene  O'Connell,   Bishop  of  Grass  Valley, 

Surrounded  by  an  illustrious  company  of  Priests, 

Secular  and   Regular, 

Set  and  laid 

With    solemn    rites,    according    to    the    Canons    of    the    Holy 

Roman  Church, 

This    Cornerstone 

Of  the  Church  and   College  of  St.   Ignatius. 

James  A.   Rooney,   O.   P., 
Addressed,   in  pious  and  fitting  terms,   the  assembled 

Faithful :   with   much   care   and   labor, 

Hugh  McKeadney  prepared  the  plans  of  the  Church 

and    College;    Robert    Mitchell    directed   the   brick-laying; 

Augustus    Saph,    the   work   of   the   carpenters. 

O  Christ,  our  Savior,  who,  together  with  the  Father  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  hast,  from  the  beginning,  created  all  things, 
be  Thou,  we  pray  Thee,  the  beginning,  progress  and  consum- 
mation of  this  work!  Set  the  seal  of  Salvation  on  this  place, 
and  suffer  not  the  destroying  angel  to  enter  it! 

Immaculate  Virgin  Mary,  Holy  Patroness,  be  nigh  at  hand 
with  thy  Blessed  Spouse,  Joseph,  that  this  place  may  be  ever 
destined  to  prayer  and  to  the  invocation  and  praise  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ! 

Holy  Father  Ignatius,  accept  this  offering  of  thy  sons,  and 
let  thy  two-fold  spirit  remain  always  with  them! 

The  roll  being  delivered  by  Bishop  O'Connell  to  Rev. 
Father  Varsi,  it  was  enclosed  by  him  in  a  glass  tube.  Other 
documents  were  handed  to  the  Father  for  enclosure  in  the 
same  tube.  The  grand  marshal,  Mr.  James  R.  Kelly,  handed, 
on  a  piece  of  parchment,  the  names  of  the  officers  of  the  Ladies' 
Sodality  of  St.  Ignatius  Church,  with  their  seal.  Similar  papers 
were  handed  by  the  prefect  of  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality,  the 
Sanctuary  Society,  and  a  list  of  benefactors'  names.  All  these 
documents  were  placed  in  the  glass  tube  and  sealed.  In  a 
silver  box  were  placed  sixty-four  silver  and  gold  coins,  repre- 
senting nearly  all  nationalities.  The  box,  together  with  the 
glass  tube,  were  enclosed  by  Father  Varsi  in  the  marble  case 
that  was  to  be  placed  in  the  large  granite  block  forming  the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


227 


cornerstone  of  the  whole  structure.  When  the  Bishop  and 
Clergy  reached  this  place,  which  was  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  building,  Father  Varsi  took  the  marble  case  which  had  been 
carried  there  by  two  acolytes,  and  placed  it  in  the  cavity  prepared 
for  it.  The  Bishop  put  some  mortar  in  the  wall  with  a  solid 
silver  trowel  having  an  ivory  handle,  and  the  granite  stone 
was  lowered  to  its  proper  place.  The  silver  trowel  was  after- 
wards presented  by  the  Fathers  to  Mr.   Mitchell." 

Father  Rooney's  address  was  an  eloquent  exposition  of 
Psalm  cxxviii:  1,  2.  "Often  have  they  fought  against  me  from 
my  youth,  let  Israel  now  say:  often  have  they  fought  against 
me  from  my  youth,  but  could  not  prevail  over  me."  The  main 
thought  of  his  sermon,  the  harmony  that  should  exist  between 
religion  and  education,  was  suggested  by  the  idea  of  blessing 
the  cornerstone  of  church  and  college  at  the  same  time. 
"How  grand,"  he  exclaimed,  "the  idea  of  blessing  the  corner- 
stone of  the  church  and  college  together!  Religion  and  edu- 
cation are  united  in  the  church;  they  beautifully  harmonize 
and  help  each  other.  Religion  blesses  and  consecrates  edu- 
cation." 

With  the  successful  laying  of  the  cornerstone,  the  building 
was  fairly  on  its  way,  and  work  was  pushed  with  the  utmost 
energy. 

"Since  the  Sunday  afternoon  less  than  a  month  ago,"  says 
the  Call  of  November  16th,  "when  Bishop  O'Connell,  assisted 
by  Father  Varsi,  laid  the  cornerstone  of  St.  Ignatius  Church 
and  College,  with  solemn  and  impressive  ceremonies,  in  the 
presence  of  six  thousand  people,  the  building  has  rapidly  de- 
veloped: another  story  with  its  numerous  parlors,  chambers, 
corridors,  niches,  chapels,  etc.,  has  been  added." 

But  let  us  turn  from  the  building  and  the  brightness  of 
anticipations  connected  with  it,  to  another  scene  which  cast  a 
gloom  over  the  faculty  and  its  many  friends.  Father  Michael 
Accolti,  who  had  laid  the  foundation  stone  of  the  Californian 
Mission,  and  whose  heart  had  throbbed  exultingly  as  he  wit- 
nessed, in  the  magnificent  ceremony  of  October  20th,  the 
crowning  of  his  labors,  was,  on  November  7th,  struck  down 


228  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

by  the  hand  of  death.  He  had  left  the  college  towards  evening, 
called  to  the  deathbed  of  Mrs.  John  Sullivan,  a  penitent  of 
his  and  a  devoted  friend  of  St.  Ignatius,  and  had  scarcely  gone 
a  few  blocks  when  he  felt  himself  unable  to  proceed.  With 
much  difficulty  he  retraced  his  steps,  and  on  entering  the  house, 
he  and  those  around  him  recognized  that  the  case  was  serious. 
He  was  immediately  borne  to  his  room,  a  confessor  was  sum- 
moned, and  at  9  p.  m.  he  peacefully  closed  a  useful  and  spot- 
less life. 

Father  Accolti  was  born  of  a  noble  family  at  Copertino, 
Lecce,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Naples,  on  January  29th,  1807. 
After  completing  with  success  his  preparatory  studies,  he 
entered  the  College  of  Nobles  at  Rome,  and  selected  for  his 
career  the  ministry  of  God's  Word.  Ordained  a  priest,  he  was 
made  a  prelate  in  the  pontifical  household.  With  his  noble 
character  and  excellent  talents,  the  honors  of  the  Church  were 
open  to  him;  but  even  from  these,  when  but  twenty-five  years 
old,  he  turned  aside,  and,  becoming  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus  in  the  Roman  Province,  on  June  nth,  1832,  he  sought 
in  the  obscurity  of  religious  life,  wider  fields  of  self-abnegation. 

After  he  had  made  a  journey  around  the  Horn,  with  Father 
De  Smet,  we  find  him  in  1844  a  missionary  in  Oregon.  It 
was  in  1848,  while  he  was  Superior  of  the  residence  at  Willam- 
ette, that  he  received  the  invitation  to  bring  help  to  the  desolate 
Church  of  San  Francisco,  an  invitation  so  happily  answered. 
His  life  from  that  to  the  present  time  has  been  sufficiently 
sketched  in  the  preceding  pages,  so  that  a  brief  summary  will 
suffice.  In  1850,  he  became  Superior  of  the  Oregon  Mission; 
in  1853,  he  left  for  Rome,  and  in  the  following  year  obtained 
that  the  Californian  Mission  should  be  adopted  by  the  Province 
of  Turin.  In  1856,  he  was  the  assistant  of  Father  Maraschi 
in  St.  Ignatius  for  somewhat  over  half  a  year;  then  he  was 
transferred  to  Santa  Clara  where  he  remained  until  1867.  For 
the  first  four  years  of  this  period  he  was  prefect  of  studies  and 
professor  of  ethics;  then  he  became  parish  priest  of  Santa  Clara, 
retaining,  however,  for  one  year,  the  direction  of  studies  in  the 
college.  From  1867  to  his  death,  he  labored  in  the  ministry 
in  San  Francisco.  Well  might  he  die  content,  seeing  the  com- 
plete fulfillment  of  what  he  had  predicted,  viz:  that  California 


FATHER  MICHAEL  ACCOLTI,  S.  J.,   IN  LATER  YEARS 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         229 

was  destined  to  thrive  and  prosper,  and  that  it  would  have 
been  a  serious  mistake  to  have  neglected  to  embrace  the  oppor- 
tunity presented  by  Providence  of  giving  the  Society  which  he 
loved,  a  home  within  its  borders.  For  twenty-five  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Council  of  the  Superior  of  the  Mission,  he  aided 
the  Mission's  development  by  his  wise  advice,  and  left  it 
on  earth,  to  take  no  less  interest  in  it,  we  are  certain,  in  the 
halls  of  heaven. 

His  kind,  forceful  character  made  a  deep  impression  on  all 
who  dealt  with  him,  and,  combined  with  solid  piety,  brought 
many  a  wayward  soul  to  repentance  and  many  a  convert  into 
the  Church.  He  was  all  to  all  that  he  might  win  all  to  Christ; 
and  that  noble,  generous  soul  which  was  the  admiration  of  mature 
manhood,  was  the  idol,  also,  of  humble  childhood.  To  know  him 
was  to  love  him.  His  funeral  took  place  on  Saturday  morning, 
November  9th,  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  throng,  and 
after  the  mass  his  body  was  conveyed  by  train  to  Santa  Clara, 
where,  in  the  midst  of  his  brethren,  it  peacefully  rests.  On  the 
10th,  the  Ladies'  Sodality  passed  resolutions  expressive  of  their 
sincere  sorrow  for  his  loss  and  of  respect  for  his  memory.  It 
was  resolved  that  on  November  28th,  the  Sodality  in  a  body 
attend  mass  for  the  repose  of  his  soul;  a  resolution,  needless 
to  say,  faithfully  carried  out. 

The  year  finished  with  the  return  of  Father  Joseph  Caredda 
to  Santa  Clara.  A  painful  surgical  operation  which,  thanks  to 
Dr.  Chismore,  a  true  friend  of  the  Fathers,  had  been  eminently 
successful,  had  detained  him  as  guest  of  St.  Ignatius  from  the 
31st  of  the  preceding  October. 

1879. 

January  29th  of  this  year  brought  the  following  request 
from  his  Grace : 

**  "San    Francisco,   January   29th,    1879. 

Very  Reverend  dear  Sir: 

Your  Fathers  are  attending  so  many  places  that  I  dislike 
very  much  to  make  the  following  request,  to  which,  whether 
you  can  accede  or  not,  you  will  be  able  to  judge. 


230  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Adjoining  the  Industrial  School,  there  is  a  House  of  Correc- 
tion. A  number  of  the  inmates  are  Catholics,  and  I  understand 
that  Protestant  ministers  go  there  to  preach  quite  frequently. 
At  present,  I  suppose,  we  could  not  be  allowed  to  have  mass 
and  sermon  but  every  other  Sunday,  and  yet,  if  we  could,  it 
would  be  well  to  have  them  every  Sunday  so  as  to  save  the 
Catholics  from  receiving  wrong  doctrine.  Please  let  me  know 
whether  you  could  send  a  Father  to  attend  there. 
Very  respectfully, 

tj.   S.   Alemany,   A.   S.   F." 

The  request  was  willingly  complied  with,  and  even  at  present 
the  institution  is  attended  by  Father  John  Forhan. 

On  the  death  of  Father  Accolti,  Father  Maraschi  became 
director  of  the  Ladies'  Sodality,  and,  in  early  February,  that 
body  reversed  its  action  taken  nearly  three  years  previously 
with  reference  to  the  age  at  which  girls  might  be  received 
as  members,  and  admission  was  permitted  after  First  Com- 
munion. 

On  the  24th  of  the  month,  a  Solemn  Requiem  Mass  over 
the  body  of  Rev.  Joseph  O'Hagan,  S.  J.,  president  of  Holy 
Cross  College,  Worcester,  Mass.,  was  sung  in  the  church. 
Father  Patrick  Healy,  S.  J.,  president  of  Georgetown  College, 
Washington,  D.  C,  was  the  celebrant.  Both  Father  O'Hagan 
and  Father  Healy,  with  health  seriously  impaired  by  the  cares 
of  office  and  long-continued  labor,  had,  on  November  30th,  left 
New  York  on  a  trip  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  hoping  that  the  rest 
of  a  sea  voyage  and  a  stay  in  our  milder  climate  might  restore 
them  to  former  health  and  vigor. 

For  one,  however,  the  journey  of  life  was  nearly  over. 
Father  Healy  reached  San  Francisco  safely  on  December  27th, 
1878;  but,  on  the  15th,  Father  O'Hagan,  the  victim  of  a  stroke 
of  apoplexy,  had  died  on  shipboard.  The  body  was  not  buried 
at  sea,  but  was  taken  to  Acapulco  and  temporarily  interred  there, 
until  Father  Healy  could  communicate  with  the  Superior  of 
his  Province.  Word  was  received  that  the  remains  of  Father 
O'Hagan  were  to  be  sent  East  for  burial.  They  were  therefore 
exhumed  and  reached  San  Francisco  on  February  20th.  The 
pupils  of  the  college  in  a  body,  the  faculty,  and  a  large  con- 


MR.   DANIEL  CROWLEY,   S.  J. 
FATHER  MICHAEL  SHALLO,  S.  J. 


FATHER  JOSEPH   ISOLABELLA,   S.   J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        231 

gregation  paid  a  last  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  whose 
life  had  carried  so  much  sunshine  into  the  lives  of  others. 

On  April  26th,  the  brickwork  having  reached  completion, 
a  dinner  was  served  in  the  building  to  commemorate  the  event. 
A  large  number  of  invited  guests  were  present.  Just  six 
months  and  a  week  had  passed  since  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone by  Bishop  O'Connell,  and  some  7,000,000  bricks  had  been 
used  to  raise  the  structure.  A  pleasant  feature  of  the  cele- 
bration was  the  fact  recorded,  that  up  to  that  time  not  a  single 
accident  had  occurred.  In  the  absence  of  Rev.  Father  Varsi, 
Father  Neri  did  the  honors  of  the  occasion.  Father  Varsi  was 
in  the  city,  but  he  had  returned  only  the  preceding  morning 
from  a  trip  to  Reno,  whither  he  had  gone  on  the  22nd.  Fatigue 
and  press  of  business,  doubtless,  explained  his  absence  from 
a  gathering  which  must  have  been  so  gratifying  to  him. 

July  came,  but  made  few  changes  in  the  professorial  staff. 
Father  Joseph  Sasia  was  called  to  Santa  Clara.  Father  Francis 
Veyret,  already  a  martyr  from  severe  sufferings  of  cancer  of  the 
stomach,  took  up  his  residence  in  the  same  place,  calmly  await- 
ing death  which  he  knew  could  not  be  far  distant.  He  passed 
holily  to  a  better  life  on  December  10th.  Father  Joseph 
Isolabella  became  Minister  on  August  3rd  in  place  of  Father 
Demasini,  and  Mr.  John  Moore,  S.  J.,  joined  the  college  staff. 

On  the  16th  of  July,  the  Feast  of  Our  Lady  of  Mt.  Carmel, 
Father  Robert  E.  Kenna,  the  future  president  of  the  college, 
celebrated  in  the  church  his  first  mass.  On  the  6th  of  the 
month,  he  had  been  ordained  priest  by  His  Grace,  Archbishop 
Alemany,  together  with  Aloysius  Raggio  and  George  Zanino- 
vich,  S.  J.,  and  had  selected  this  feast  of  Our  Blessed  Mother 
as  the  most  appropriate  day  to  offer  at  the  altar,  the  unbloody 
sacrifice  of  her  Divine  Son. 

The  23rd  of  August  caused  more  than  a  flutter  of  excitement 
in  the  hearts  of  the  members  of  the  college,  when  the  report 
was  spread  that  our  new  buildings  were  on  fire.  The  word 
passed  rapidly  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  smoke  sure  enough 
was  issuing  from  the  building.  It  was  7  o'clock  in  the  evening 
of  a  day  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the  city,  when  Mayor 
Kallock,  shot  by  Charles  DeYoung,  was  hovering  between 
life  and  death.     The  excitement  consequent  on  this  event  had 


232  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

prepared  imaginations  for  all  sorts  of  fancies,  and  rumor  was 
rife  until  word  was  brought  that  the  fire  was  nothing  more 
than  a  blaze  in  the  kitchen  chimney.  A  month  later,  the  big 
bell  was  lowered  from  its  tower,  and,  on  October  24th,  took  up 
its  abode  in  the  belfry  of  the  new  church. 

On  the  same  day,  Father  Paul  Raffo  and  Brother  Natalis 
Savio  arrived  in  the  college,  having  given  up  the  attempt  to 
establish  a  residence  in  Reno,  Nevada.  The  Father  had  gone 
thither  from  Santa  Clara  some  thirteen  months  before;  the 
Brother,  in  August,  had  been  sent  from  St.  Ignatius  to  join 
him.  The  venture  had  not  proved  a  success,  and  both  were 
glad  to  be  once  again  among  their  brethren.  Some  weeks 
earlier,  the  community  had  received  an  addition  in  the  person 
of  Father  John  De  Blieck  of  the  Missouri  Province,  whom  ill 
health  had  caused  to  seek  relief  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

But  loss  and  gain  are  ever  tilting  the  scales  of  life,  and  the 
gain  of  Father  De  Blieck  was  nullified  by  the  loss  of  Father 
Peter  O'Flynn,  who,  on  November  24th,  took  steamer  for 
Australia.  Numerous  friends  accompanied  the  Father  to  the 
wharf,  and  sincere  were  the  expressions  of  sorrow  at  parting, 
for  Father  O'Flynn  had  endeared  himself  to  many  during  his 
stay  in   San   Francisco. 

These  were,  indeed,  days  of  change;  the  passing  from  the 
old  to  the  new.  In  the  beginning  of  November,  the  altar  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  was  moved  from  the  old  church  to  the 
domestic  chapel  in  the  new  residence ;  and  on  the  22nd  of  the 
month,  the  organ  was  removed  to  the  choir  loft  of  the  new  church. 
No  vacations  were  given  at  Christmas,  except  on  the  vigil  and 
the  feast  itself,  owing  to  the  unavoidable  interruption  of  classes 
incident  to  total  removal  now  near  at  hand.  The  severe  storm 
of  wind  and  rain  that  raged  on  the  19th  of  December,  had  done 
some  injury  to  the  building;  but  this  was  soon  repaired,  and 
the  edifice  daily  grew  in  beauty,  as  each  successive  touch  brought 
it  nearer  to  completion;  the  old,  on  the  contrary,  showed  daily, 
more  and  more,  the  signs  of  abandonment,  and  caused  many  a 
pang  of  sorrow  to  hearts  that  had  so  often  within  its  walls,  found 
rest  and  contentment  in  weary  and  troubled  hours. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         233 

1880. 

On  January  21st,  1880,  vacation  commenced,  and,  on  the 
next  day,  the  transference  of  school  furniture  began.  The  pupils 
of  the  college  helped  materially,  supplying  by  numbers  and 
good  will  whatever  else  was  in  any  way  lacking.  On  Sunday, 
the  25th,  Father  Buchard  preached  his  last  sermon  in  the  old 
church,  the  walls  of  which  had  so  often  rung  to  his  eloquent 
voice;  and  on  the  same  day,  His  Lordship,  Rt.  Rev.  James 
Augustine  Healy,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Portland,  Maine,  arrived 
with  Rev.  John  Flatley,  to  take  part  in  the  dedication  of  the 
church  on  Hayes  Street.  On  Saturday,  the  31st,  the  Fathers 
went  to  their  confessionals  for  the  last  time,  and  left  them  late 
at  night  with  the  feeling  of  those  who  part  with  old  friends,  for 
the  memories  of  many  years  were  inseparably  connected  with 
them,  and  the  consolations  experienced  in  bringing  sinners  back 
to  God.  On  the  following  day,  masses  were  celebrated  until 
8  45  a.  m.  Then,  church  and  residence  were  closed  to  become 
things  of  the  past,  remembrances  to  live  in  loving  hearts,  and 
nothing  more;  and  the  new  church  and  residence  replaced  them, 
depriving  them  even  of  the  name  that  they  had  so  long  borne  of 
Church  and  College  of  St.  Ignatius. 

The  new  residence,  indeed,  had  already,  for  some  time,  had 
several  occupants.  Besides  the  Brothers  who  had,  for  some 
months,  kept  watch,  Messrs.  Shallo  and  Giacobbi,  S.  J.,  had  taken 
up  their  abode  there  on  January  24th;  and  four  days  later, 
Bishop  Healy  and  his  secretary  with  Rev.  Father  Varsi,  joined 
them.  Others,  too,  followed  soon  after,  and  all  were  again 
reunited  by  the  3rd  of  February ;  the  last  four  who  had  been  left 
in  the  old  house,  abandoning  it  on  that  date. 

The  dedication  of  the  church  on  the  1st  of  the  month  was 
a  scene  of  splendor,  in  which  nothing  had  been  spared  or  over- 
looked that  could  contribute  to  success.  His  Grace,  the  Most 
Reverend  Archbishop,  celebrant;  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Healy,  orator; 
ceremonies  carefully  rehearsed  under  the  watchful  eye  of  one 
who  saw  that  their  beauty  was  not  marred  even  in  the  least 
detail ;  the  clergy,  secular  and  regular ;  the  Christian  Brothers ; 
the  altar  boys ;  the  Sodalists ;  the  choir  and  the  music ;  the  thou- 
sands of  enthusiastic  spectators;  and,  as  a  fit  setting  to  all,  ideal 


234  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

Californian  weather,  as  if  nature  rejoiced  to  crown  God's  work; 
all  contributed  to  an  effect  realized  only  when  seen. 

"By  far  the  most  imposing  Catholic  ecclesiastical  gathering 
ever  seen  on  this  Coast,"  says  an  account  of  the  time,  "was 
that  of  yesterday  at  St.  Ignatius  Church,  on  the  occasion  of  its 
dedication  to  the  service  of  the  Most  High,  followed  by  a  most 
solemn  and  impressive  pontifical  mass.  For  several  days  past, 
clergy  have  been  arriving  in  this  city  from  every  quarter,  with 
a  view  to  seeing  and  participating  in  the  services.  The  Rt. 
Rev.  Bishop  Healy  of  Portland,  Maine,  was  engaged  to  preach 
the  sermon,  and  His  Grace,  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Alemany, 
as  pontifical  celebrant.  The  day  was  simply  perfect,  hardly  a 
breath  of  wind  was  perceptible,  and  the  warm  sun  beamed  from 
a  serene  and  cloudless  sky.  Before  9  o'clock,  the  vicinity  of 
the  church  was  swarming  with  devout  worshipers,  who  crowded 
up  the  broad  entrance  steps  and  spread  across  the  street  for  the 
entire  block.  Every  moment  augmented  the  throng,  which,  it 
was  evident,  could  never  find  entrance  into  the  already  densely 
packed  house  of  God.  They  appeared  willing,  however,  to  bide 
their  time,  and  their  patience  was  ultimately  rewarded,  for  at 
10  o'clock  the  pontifical  celebrant,  conducted  by  a  procession  of 
acolytes  and  clergy,  left  the  private  chapel  of  the  Fathers'  resi- 
dence, and,  appearing  at  the  entrance,  descended  from  the  resi- 
dence to  the  sidewalk,  and  mounted  the  broad  steps  of  the  main 
entrance  to  the  church.  Upon  the  broad  granite  platform  the 
procession  halted,  while  the  Archbishop  invoked  the  assistance 
and  benediction  of  God  upon  the  ceremonies  to  be  performed, 
and  also  upon  the  church  to  be  dedicated.  .  .  .  Descend- 
ing the  steps,  the  procession  marched  slowly  eastward  to  the 
basement  entrance  of  the  Fathers'  residence,  where  it  entered 
the  corridor  extending  along  the  outer  wall  of  the  church. 
.  The  procession  was  marshaled  by  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  who  also  acted  as  ushers 
and  escorts.  They  were  subdivided  into  ten  divisions,  each  under 
a  marshal  and  all  under  charge  of  the  prefect,  James  R.  Kelly, 
Esq.  .  .  .  Following  the  wall  to  its  northern  extremity, 
the  procession  sang  canticles  and  psalms  while  the  celebrant 
sprinkled   the   wall   with   holy   water,    a   ceremony   which   was 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        235 

continued  along  the  north,  west  and  south  walls  to  the  place 
of  beginning.  Remounting  to  the  sidewalk,  the  procession 
re-ascended  the  main  entrance  steps  to  the  spacious  vestibule,  the 
center  doors  of  which  were  thrown  open  to  admit  it.  The  gor- 
geous spectacle  here  presented  by  the  procession  as  it  advanced 
with  slow  and  measured  tread  to  the  sanctuary,  will  remain 
forever  fixed  in  the  memory  of  all  who  witnessed  the  event." 

Following  the  blessing  of  the  outer  walls  came  the  blessing 
of  the  inner,  and  then  the  pontifical  mass  in  all  its  grandeur. 
The  altar  in  its  magnificence,  bright  with  myriads  of  lights  and 
adorned  with  costly  flowers ;  the  organ ;  the  voices  blending  with 
an  orchestral  accompaniment  seldom  equaled;  the  long  line  of 
well-trained  acolytes  in  lace  and  purple,  moving  with  grace 
and  precision;  the  beautiful  vestments  of  the  participating 
clergy;  the  miter  and  crozier,  and  the  modest,  pious  man  that 
bore  them,  he  as  much  an  honor  to  them  as  they  to  him;  all 
tended  to  elevate  minds  above  the  sordidness  of  earth  and  fix 
them  on  realms  beyond  the  skies. 

After  the  gospel,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Healy  mounted  the 
pulpit  and  delivered  a  masterly  sermon  on  the  text,  "My 
house  shall  be  called  the  house  of  prayer  for  all  nations." 
Isaiah  lvi :  7.  During  the  mass,  there  were  between  three  and 
four  thousand  persons  within  the  church  walls,  and  nearly  as 
many  more  outside  them.  It  is,  moreover,  estimated  that  during 
the  day  over  fifteen  thousand  persons  entered  its  sacred  portals. 

"The  interior  of  the  church,"  continues  the  account,  "is  most 
magnificent.  Marble  pilaster  clusters  projecting  from  the  side 
walls  support  the  outer  spring  of  the  aisle  arches;  another  clus- 
ter forms  a  column,  with  humette  base,  and  corresponding  with 
these,  support  the  inner  spring  of  the  arches  and  divide  the  aisle 
from  the  nave.  The  inner  pilaster  of  the  cluster  is  fluted,  the 
others  are  ornamented  with  moulded  panels,  and  are  not  so  lofty 
as  the  inner,  which  extends  to  an  entablature,  above  which  the 
nave  wall  rises  to  a  flat  ceiling  with  square  moulded  panels  on 
each  side  of  large  circular  and  highly  ornamented  ventilators. 
Corinthian  being  the  prevailing  order  of  architecture  in  the 
building,  the  pilaster  capitals  are  of  this  style. 


236  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

In  the  evening,  the  church  contained  an  assemblage  almost 
as  vast  as  that  which  crowded  its  pews  and  thronged  its  aisles 
in  the  morning.  The  gaslight  flowing  from  scores  of  chande- 
liers presented  the  noble  architecture  of  the  interior  of  the  edi- 
fice in  a  new  and  beautiful  aspect.  Fretted  roof,  graceful  col- 
umns and  painting-covered  walls,  looked  brighter  in  the  warm 
glow  of  the  gaslight  than  in  the  rays  of  the  morning.  The 
evening  services  commenced  at  7 130  o'clock  with  the  beautiful 
and  impressive  ceremony  of  vespers,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
Healy  officiating.  The  sermon  was  delivered  by  Very  Rev. 
Father  Prendergast."  He  spoke  beautifully  on  the  redemption 
of  man,  and  on  the  house  of  God  which  was  built  and  dedicated 
to  light  the  way  to  such  redemption.  "Come  to  this  temple," 
said  he,  in  conclusion,  "early  in  the  morning  and  late  in  the 
evening,  you  whose  hearts  are  fresh  and  pure,  and  you  who  are 
weary  and  laden  with  cares.  Come  to  the  house  of  God  with 
faith,  and  reverence,  and  love,  and  you  will  find  here  your  God 
and  Savior,  and  this  temple  shall  be  to  you  the  threshold  and 
vestibule  of  the  eternal  temple  of  God."  Solemn  benediction 
followed,  concluding  the  day's  festivities,  and  the  Fathers  were 
at  length  enabled  to  snatch  some  needed  rest. 

On  the  following  morning,  the  Feast  of  the  Purification 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Healy  blessed  the 
college.  The  Call  of  the  following  morning  contains  quite  an 
interesting  account  of  the  ceremony. 

"The  solemn  and  impressive  pontifical  services,"  it  says, 
"of  the  dedication  and  high  mass,  which  took  place  on  Sunday 
morning  in  the  new  St.  Ignatius  Church,  were  renewed  yester- 
day with  but  little  diminution  of  imposing  effect.  The  crowd 
of  attendant  worshipers  was  nearly  as  great,  and  the  dedication 
service  and  subsequent  celebration  of  the  Feast  of  the  Purifica- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  or  Candlemas,  were,  if  any- 
thing, more  aesthetically  beautiful.  Low  masses  commenced  at 
5  o'clock  and  continued  until  after  9.  At  half-past  nine,  the 
procession  started  from  the  sanctuary  in  the  same  order  as  that 
of  Sunday,  the  officiating  pontiff  being  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
Healy  of  Maine.  The  Very  Rev.  Father  Varsi,  Superior  of 
the  Jesuits  of  California,  again  officiated    as  assistant    priest, 


RT.  REV.  JAMES  AUGUSTINE  HEALY,  D.  D. 

VERY  REV.  JOHN  PRENDERGAST,  V.  G. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        237 

accompanied  by  Father  Neri.  Descending  from  the  main 
entrance  to  the  sidewalk,  the  procession  marched  along  Hayes 
Street  to  Van  Ness  Avenue,  thence  northward  to  the  main 
entrance  of  the  college,  where  it  halted  while  the  celebrant 
sprinkled  the  east  wall  with  holy  water  from  a  silver  asper- 
gillum.  Entering  the  college,  the  procession  passed  through 
all  the  classrooms,  museum,  college  hall,  library,  and  the 
corridors  of  the  vast  establishment,  all  of  which  were  blessed 
by  the  Bishop  amid  the  continued  chant  of  canticles  and 
psalms  by  a  large  chorus  of  voices.  Returning  to  Van  Ness 
Avenue,  the  procession  awaited  the  formation  of  the  students 
into  line,  four  deep.  They  had  previously  stood  upon  the  curb- 
stone and  formed  an  unbroken  line  all  the  way  down  Hayes 
Street  and  along  Van  Ness  Avenue.  They  now  preceded  the 
acolytes  to  the  church."  Here  a  pontifical  mass  was  sung,  and 
after  it  the  students  dispersed  for  the  day. 

Another  interesting  ceremony  was  reserved  for  the  morrow, 
the  solemn  consecration  of  the  marble  altars  of  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin and  St.  Joseph.     Bishop  Healy  was  once  more  the  celebrant. 

"These  side  altars,"  says  the  Post  of  January  31st,  "are 
worthy  of  special  mention.  They  are  of  rich  and  antique  designs, 
each  being  built  at  a  cost  of  $3,500,  the  chief  expense  being  the 
cost  of  the  marbles  used.  From  malachite  and  lapis  lazuli  used 
down  to  the  soft  and  wonderfully  white  Carrara,  all  the  slabs  were 
imported  from  Italy,  with  the  exception  of  the  brown  California 
alabaster.  In  the  Blessed  Virgin's  altar,  forty-five  different 
varieties  of  marble  were  used,  and  in  the  building  of  its  fellow, 
thirty-four  varieties,  the  plan  being  simpler  than  that  of  the 
other.  The  shelf  of  the  Blessed  Virgin's  altar  is  of  white  marble 
in  a  single  slab,  inlaid  in  the  center  with  a  small  door  of  brown 
Porto  Santo  marble,  and  the  center  section  consists  of  a  slab 
of  brown  Flor  di  Perseca,  on  which  is  a  wreath  of  gilt  roses 
surrounding  a  monogram  of  the  letters  typifying  the  Virgin, 
above  which  is  a  jeweled  crown  in  gilt.  The  tabernacle  is 
roofed  with  white  marble,  the  front  being  inlaid  with  malachite 
and  a  panel  of  landscape  marble.  Set  into  the  wall  behind,  and 
running  up  along  the  sides  of  the  niche,  are  panels  of  white  mar- 
ble, with  light  orange  and  red  alabaster  panels  at  the  side  imme- 
diately above  the  altar. 


238  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

The  altar  of  St.  Joseph  is  paneled  in  front  with  Flor  di 
Perseca  in  the  center,  and  brown  California  alabaster  of  very 
rich  tinting  on  either  side.  In  the  construction  of  the  altars, 
the  architect  gave  his  most  careful  attention  and  brought  into 
exercise  his  highest  artistic  ability,  and  the  result  must  be 
decidedly  gratifying  to  his  feelings." 

The  altar  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Maria 
Coleman;  and  that  of  St.  Joseph,  the  gift  of  Mr.  Joseph 
Donohoe,  whose  benefactions  to  the  cabinet  we  have  elsewhere 
noted.  Both  have  passed  to  their  eternal  reward,  but  their 
good  works  live  after  them. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  February  10th,  "The  exhibition  hall 
of  the  new  St.  Ignatius  was  inaugurated  with  a  musical  and 
literary  entertainment  of  a  high  order,  given  in  the  presence  of 
nearly  4,000  spectators,"  says  the  Call  of  Sunday,  the  15th. 
"The  vast  auditorium  was  thronged  even  to  the  aisles  and 
foyer,  where  many  stood  throughout  the  entire  programme  which 
lasted  about  three  and  a  half  hours.  A  more  commodious, 
elegant  and  attractive  hall  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  city.  In 
general  plan  and  outline,  the  hall  resembles  the  church,  being 
a  parallelogram  having  a  lofty  nave,  with  flat  paneled  ceiling 
and  aisles  of  the  same  style,  but  lower.  The  hall  is  145  by  100 
feet,  with  orchestra,  parquet  and  gallery,  all  containing  seats 
arranged  in  segments  of  circles  whose  diameters  increase  as 
they  recede  from  the  stage  which  is  the  center.  A  gradual  ele- 
vation of  the  floor  affords,  in  like  manner,  an  unobstructed  view 
from  every  quarter  of  the  hall.  Upon  each  side  of  the  nave, 
dividing  it  from  the  aisles,  is  a  row  of  octagonal  fluted  Corin- 
thian columns  each  encircled,  about  midway  to  the  ceiling,  with 
a  massive  and  resplendent  gilded  crown  bearing  a  wreath  of 
gas-jets.  The  illuminating  facilities  are  good,  as  are  also  the 
acoustic  properties  of  the  hall.  Both  ear  and  eye  are  gratified 
— the  eye  with  the  delicate  display  of  light  and  shade  upon  the 
pure  and  subdued  white  of  the  walls,  ceiling  and  columns; 
the  ear  with  the  perfection  with  which  every  vibration  of  even 
most  delicate  sound  is  distinctly  heard.  The  stage  is  70  by  40 
feet  and  furnished  with  scenery,  curtains,  etc.  Upon  each  side 
of  the  stage  are  two  massive  circular  fluted  columns  with  two 


THE  BLESSED  VIRGIN'S  ALTAR 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         239 

pilasters  of  the  same  order,  which  aid  in  supporting  the  arch, 
behind  which  hangs  a  rich  crimson  lambrequin.  Two  grand 
prismatic  crystal  chandeliers  are  suspended  from  the  ceiling 
over  the  stage  front,  and  are  the  brilliantly  colored  fountain- 
head  of  a  flood  of  light  which  is  thrown  to  every  part  of  the 
hall. 

Upon  Tuesday  night  the  rear  of  the  stage  was  ornamented 
with  the  scene  of  a  Corinthian  colonnade.  In  front  of  the 
radiant  work  of  art,  with  its  smooth  marbled  columns  bathed 
in  a  roseate  glow  of  oriental  splendor,  sat  the  clergy,  college 
professors,  and  participants  in  the  programme.  In  the  center 
was  the  chairman,  F.  J.  Sullivan,  A.  M.;  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Healy,  D.  D.,  of  Maine;  and  the  Rev.  Fathers  Varsi  and 
Pinasco.  Upon  the  front  seats  were  Rev.  Father  Prendergast, 
the  Vicar  General,  and  others  of  the  secular  and  regular  clergy, 
with  Brother  Cianan  and  other  Christian  Brothers,  friends  of 
the  college.  The  programme  was  admirably  rendered  and 
elicited  hearty  and  prolonged  applause  with  which  the  partici- 
pants were  frequently  interrupted.  .  .  .  After  the  overture, 
the  chairman  read  a  letter  from  Governor  George  C.  Perkins 
who  was  unable  to  attend,  and  therein  expressed  his  regrets. 
He  said : 

T  greatly  desired  to  add  my  humble  voice  in  public  praise 
of  the  glorious  work  which  you  have  so  nobly  accomplished, 
work  which  is  the  result  of  life's  devotion  in  a  holy  and  a  noble 
cause.  In  thought  and  spirit  I  am  with  you,  and  my  earnest 
prayers  are  for  the  success  of  your  noble  institution.  The 
edifice  which  you  have  raised  must  redound  to  the  advantage 
of  Christianity,  and  future  years  will  consecrate  the  devotion 
you  have  so  unfalteringly  and  unsparingly  bestowed  on  this 
great  work  dedicated  to  science,  learning  and  morality.'  The 
introductory  address  by  Mr.  Sullivan  was  an  eloquent,  grateful 
and  glowing  tribute  paid  by  a  son  to  his  Alma  Mater. 

Bishop  Healy,  on  being  introduced,  was  received  with  round 
upon  round  of  deafening  applause,  and  some  time  elapsed 
before  he  could  be  heard.  Silence  having  been  at  length 
restored,   His  Lordship  said : 


24o  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

'I  agree  with  the  previous  speaker;  yours  is  a  great  State 
and  a  great  city.  You  have  great  mountains,  great  trees,  and 
I  might  say  a  great  college.  The  manner  in  which  the  pupils 
have  acquitted  themselves  to-night  is  highly  creditable  both 
to  themselves  and  the  faculty  having  their  instruction  in 
charge.  ...  I  would  like  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of 
these  young  gentlemen  that  labor  is  necessary  in  every  walk  of 
life.  What  you  acquire  easily  is  of  little  value.  .  .  .  Above 
all  it  is  essential  to  possess  an  experimental  knowledge  of  Chris- 
tianity, not  that  which  is  culled  from  the  catechism,  but  that 
which  is  felt  in  the  heart.    This  is  the  great  jewel  of  education.' 

The  Reverend  speaker  closed  with  an  eloquent  eulogy  of 
Rev.  Father  Varsi,  who  has  presided  over  the  erection  and 
ornamentation  of  the  vast  structure  which  contains  one  of 
the  largest  churches  in  the  State,  one  of  the  largest  colleges, 
and  one  of  the  largest  halls,  besides  a  magnificent  residence. 
In  the  hereafter,  should  any  one  ask  to  see  the  monument  erected 
to  his  memory,  he  may  be  told  in  the  words  of  an  inscription 
upon  a  tablet  in  Rome  referring  to  the  patron  saint  of  this 
institution,  Tf  you  ask  for  his  monument,  look  about,  for  his 
monument  is  here.'  " 

Among  the  old  students  who  participated  in  the  exercises 
were  Robert  Tobin,  A.  M.,  and  James  I.  Boland,  A.  M.  John 
J.  Montgomery,  S.  B.,  and  James  D.  Phelan  were  among  those 
who  represented  the  actual  students. 

On  the  following  day,  the  pupils  had  mass  for  the  first  time 
in  their  new  chapel.  It  was  Ash  Wednesday,  and  the  ceremony 
of  the  blessing  and  distribution  of  the  ashes  was  performed, 
and  a  short,  practical  instruction  given  by  Father  Prelato,  the 
chaplain. 

On  the  24th,  Father  Joseph  Bixio  arrived  from  Australia, 
bringing  with  him  a  magnificent  collection  of  ferns  for  the 
museum.  He  remained  attached  to  St.  Ignatius  until  May 
1 2th,  when  he  was  transferred  to  Santa  Clara.  The  greater  part 
of  this  time,  however,  he  spent  in  giving  missions  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  State. 

Easter  Sunday,  April  4th,  had  brought  with  it  a  pleasant 
surprise.     The  new  altar  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  the  gift  of  the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        241 

piety  and  generosity  of  Miss  Julia  Gately,  was  exposed  to  the 
admiration  of  the  worshipers  in  St.  Ignatius. 

"For  some  time  past,"  says  the  Chronicle  of  April  12th, 
"while  the  devout  worshipers  at  St.  Ignatius  were  telling  their 
beads  and  performing  their  devotions,  the  busy  artists  were 
noiselessly  working  behind  the  heavy  screen  which  concealed 
from  sight  one  of  the  grandest  pieces  of  ecclesiastical  art  which 
has  been  presented  to  the  view  of  the  people  of  San  Francisco. 
On  Easter  Sunday  the  veil  was  withdrawn,  and  the  new  altar 
of  the  Sacred  Heart  was,  for  the  first  time,  exposed  to  an 
admiring  throng  of  faithful  worshipers.  It  is  a  masterpiece 
of  decorative  art.  The  design  of  the  altar,  complete  in  the 
main,  displays  the  most  perfect  unity  and  harmony  in  all  its 
details.  The  emblems  employed  have  reference  to  the  mystery 
of  redemption,  and  express  in  silence  what  man  has  failed  to 
expound  in  speech.  The  altar  is  situated  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  church,  and  is  a  shrine  at  which  a  train  of 
the  faithful  continually  kneel.  The  materials  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  altar  are  all  wood.  Its  height  is  twenty- 
three  feet,  and  it  completely  fills  the  niche  prepared  for  it.  It 
is  enclosed  by  a  railing  of  bronze,  gilded  and  variegated,  with 
clusters  of  grapes  and  ears  of  wheat  emblematical  of  the  ele- 
ments used  in  the  eucharistic  sacrifice.  The  design  of  the 
railing  which  is  unique  in  itself,  was  arranged  especially  for 
the  altar.  At  the  base  of  the  altar  and  under  the  projecting 
mensa  stand  two  angels  apparently  supporting  the  entire  weight 
of  the  superstructure.  Outside  the  middle  section,  which  is 
supported  by  two  Corinthian  columns,  the  most  prominent 
figures  appear.  On  the  right  is  Hope  with  her  left  hand  on 
the  stem  of  an  anchor,  and  in  her  right  the  palm  branch  of 
peace.  The  figure  on  the  left  personates  Faith  with  a  chalice 
in  her  left  hand  and  a  cross  in  her  right.  The  folds  and  drapery 
of  both  are  exceedingly  beautiful  and  chaste.  The  attitudes 
are  well  taken  and  the  faces  expressive.  Above  these  are  two 
other  figures  bearing  the  emblems  of  the  Savior's  sufferings, 
the  scourge,  the  sponge,  and  the  crown  of  thorns.  The  only 
ornament  employed  in  the  interstices  of  the  central  entablature 
is  the  lily,  the  symbol  of  purity.  In  the  center  of  all  is  the 
picture  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  to  which  all  the  rest  is  subordinate 


242  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

and  accessory.  The  figure  of  the  Savior  holds  in  one  hand  the 
heart  surmounted  by  a  cross,  and  points  to  it  with  the  other. 
The  surrounding  emblems  are  exceedingly  appropriate,  among 
others  that  of  the  pelican  which  is  fabled  to  nourish  its  young 
with  its  life-blood.  This  is  a  copy  of  Battoni,  and  is  believed 
to  be  the  best  in  existence.  On  the  lower  portion  of  the  middle 
section  and  immediately  above  the  mensa,  is  arranged  a  number 
of  finely  contrasted  candelabra  of  bronze,  and  delicate  vases 
filled  with  flowers.  In  a  direct  line  beneath  the  picture  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  are  a  brazen  crucifix  and  a  silver  dove  with  wings 
expanded  and  bearing  a  flower  festoon  in  its  beak.  Beneath 
this  is  the  monogram,  I.  H.  S.,  ornamented  with  the  appro- 
priate emblems  of  faith.  The  upper  section  of  the  altar  is  a 
panel  with  a  gilded  chalice  in  full  relief,  from  which  emanate 
rays  of  gold  piercing  through  flakes  of  snowy  clouds,  and  which 
on  emerging  again,  resume  their  golden  hues.  The  group  on  this 
ground  consists  of  ten  cherubs  who  display  to  view  only  their 
chubby  faces.  Two  angels  in  graceful  drapery  are  kneeling  in 
adoration  towards  the  chalice  and  complete  the  group.  Near 
the  apex  of  the  altar  which  is  sharp  and  angular,  two  angels 
hold  a  gilt  cross  which  surmounts  the  whole."  The  entire  altar  is 
of  hand  carving,  and  represents  a  large  expenditure  of  money. 
But  beauty  and  devotion  to  the  Divine  Heart  were  alone  con- 
sidered by  the  donor,  and  the  result  is  an  artistic  work  no  less 
precious  than  devout. 

On  May  the  28th,  owning  to  the  immense  increase  in  the 
debt  and  the  consequent  increase  in  interest,  Father  Varsi 
found  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  ask  the  voluntary  contri- 
butions of  the  friends  of  church  and  college  to  enable  the 
Fathers  to  hold  their  old  property  until  such  time  as  they 
could  dispose  of  it  at  a  fair  price.  The  agitation  of  the  sand- 
lotters  had  driven  capital  East;  changes  in  the  political  admin- 
istration of  the  State  had  rendered  investors  over-cautious; 
bad  seasons  had  at  times  proved  serious  set-backs  just  as  busi- 
ness was  reviving  and  prosperity  once  more  seemed  assured; 
perhaps  the  selfishness  of  some  who  expected  that  the  Fathers 
would  be  driven  to  the  wall  and  obliged  to  part  with  their 
property  at  a  great  sacrifice  was  also  a  factor;  but  the  years 
were  passing  and  the  Market   Street  property,   whose  value 


CENTER-PIECE   OF  THE   SACRED   HEART  ALTAR 
ALTAR  OF  THE  SACRED  HEART 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        243 

everybody  knew,  remained  unsold.  The  "Ignatian  Society" 
was  therefore  started,  the  literary  society  of  that  name  having 
been  discontinued.  On  the  30th  of  the  month,  the  notice  of 
the  society's  inception  was  published  in  the  church,  and  printed 
notices  were  distributed  to  the  congregation.  The  debt  at 
this  time  had  grown  to  be  $862,510,  on  which  the  yearly  interest 
was  $42,492.  This  debt  was  made  up  of  the  original  outlay 
on  the  old  buildings,  the  $200,000  paid  for  the  new  lot,  and 
the  cost  of  the  new  buildings. 

The  daily  papers  of  the  time  spoke  of  the  "million-dollar 
home  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  San  Francisco."  Father  Varsi 
did  not  think  that  he  was  called  upon  to  undeceive  them,  for 
the  matter  in  question  was  the  mere  private  business  of  the 
Fathers,  and  as  such  intimately  concerned  them  alone.  More- 
over, modesty  forbade  his  speaking,  where  speaking  might  be 
misinterpreted  as  bragging.  It  sufficed  for  him  to  be  conscious 
that  owing  to  his  ability,  and  the  honesty  and  business  capacity 
of  Mr.  McKeadney  and  of  the  various  contractors  and  builders, 
the  magnificent  pile  had  cost  up  to  July,  1880,  when  the  build- 
ings had  been  already  in  use  for  five  months,  the  compara- 
tively moderate  sum  of  $323,763.  The  value  of  the  property 
on  Market  Street  easily  covered  the  whole  debt;  but  value  upon 
which  one  cannot  realize  is  not  an  available  asset;  and  the 
heavy  burden,  though  it  did  not  discourage  Father  Varsi  nor 
diminish  his  trust  in  Providence,  could  not  but  render  him 
solicitous  in  employing  every  means  to  sustain  it. 

At  the  end  of  the  scholastic  year  in  June,  it  was  found,  as 
had  been  expected,  that  the  number  of  pupils  had  somewhat 
diminished,  for  the  location  of  the  college  rendered  it  difficult 
for  many  of  the  old  students  to  attend.  The  loss,  however, 
was  not  great,  for  there  were  still  652  students  in  attendance. 
For  the  new  scholastic  year  in  August,  Father  Varsi  planned 
a  considerable  strengthening  of  the  faculty,  and  this  was  in 
his  power,  for  he  had,  at  the  time,  more  professors  at  his  disposal 
than  ever  before. 

On  July  7th,  Father  Robert  E.  Kenna  was  announced  to 
succeed  Father  John  Pinasco  as  president  of  St.  Ignatius, 
Father  Pinasco  departing  on  the   10th  to  assume  charge  of 


244  THE    FIRS?    HALF    CENTURY 

Santa  Clara  College.  The  government  of  Father  Pinasco  had 
given  great  satisfaction  to  pupils  and  faculty,  and  both  were 
unwilling  to  part  with  him,  though  they  felt  that  St.  Ignatius' 
loss  was  Santa  Clara's  gain.  Still  there  was  compensation  in 
the  new  appointment,  for  it  was  felt  that  with  the  energy  and 
push  of  Father  Kenna,  the  institution  would  be  well  cared  for. 
Father  Pinasco's  capacity  for  work  was  great,  and  his  self- 
sacrifice  equally  so;  for  he  toiled  uncomplainingly  through  the 
long  hours  of  the  day  in  fulfilling  the  duties  of  vice-president, 
and  hence  was  compelled  to  labor  long  into  the  night  to  attend 
to  the  business  that  fell  to  his  portion  as  president.  Few  men 
could  have  filled  a  position  so  delicate;  fewer  still  could  have 
filled  it  as  he  did. 

On  the  20th  of  the  month,  Father  Gregory  Leggio  became 
vice-president,  thus  allowing  Father  Kenna  to  devote  his  whole 
time  to  the  cares  of  the  presidency.     About  the  same  time, 
Mr.  Daniel  Crowley,  S.  J.,  became  prefect  of  the  lower  classes, 
thus  lightening  the   burden   of  vice-presidency   and   ensuring 
greater   efficiency;   while,   as   members   of  the   teaching   staff, 
Father    Aloysius    Brunengo,    late    president    of    Santa    Clara 
College,  and  Messrs.  Jerome  Ricard,  John   Walshe,   John  J. 
Cunningham,    Robert    Smith,    Joseph    Riordan,    Michael    A. 
McKey,  all  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  came  from  Santa  Clara. 
Mr.  Julius  Egloffstein  and  Mr.  Michael  Shallo  taught  in  the  col- 
lege and  studied  philosophy  with  Mr.  William  Melchers,  S.  J., 
under  the  direction  of  Father  Charles  Pollano.     Of  the  old  pro- 
fessors, Father  Joseph  Bayma  was  transferred  to  Santa  Clara; 
Father   Joseph    Isolabella    devoted    himself    exclusively    to    the 
domestic    duties    of    Minister;    Mr.    Dominic  Giacobbi    left    to 
pursue  his  theological  studies.    On  August  6th,   Father  Varsi 
departed    for    New    York,    leaving    Father    Congiato    in    tem- 
porary charge  of  the  Mission.    Business  kept  him  absent  for 
nearly    six   weeks,    so    that    it   was   the   middle    of    September 
before    he   reached    home.     Two    days    later,    September    17th, 
Father   John   Treanor   arrived,    having   come  to   California    in 
the   party    of   Judge   Donoghue   of    New    York.     Little   were 
we   prepared   for   the   sad   event   that  was   to   come   so   soon. 
On    October   4th,    a   telegram    was    received    stating   that   the 


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SACRED  HEART  ALTAR,  DECORATED 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


245 


Father  was  dead.  He  died  as  the  result  of  a  stage  accident 
near  a  place  called  Flat  Oak  on  the  Calaveras  road.  On 
a  steep  descent,  the  stage  driver  was  thrown  from  his  seat 
and  Father  Treanor  attempted  to  grasp  the  lines.  The  stage 
was  upset  and  the  Father's  leg  broken.  He  was  hurried  to 
the  nearest  town;  a  priest  was  fortunately  at  hand  and  admin- 
istered the  last  sacraments.  The  leg  was  amputated  in  the 
hope  of  saving  the  Father's  life,  but,  on  the  following  day,  he 
died. 

The  body  arrived  at  the  college  on  the  evening  of  the  day 
on  which  the  news  had  arrived.  On  the  day  following  the 
remains  were  embalmed ;  and,  dressed  in  the  robes  of  the  priest- 
hood, they  were  borne  late  in  the  evening  to  the  church.  Next 
morning,  a  Solemn  High  Mass  was  sung  by  Father  Varsi  for 
the  repose  of  the  soul  of  the  departed,  and,  after  the  Mass,  the 
body  was  taken  to  the  train  to  retrace  across  the  continent  a 
journey  so  filled  with  innocent  happiness  a  few  weeks  pre- 
viously. 

Before  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  Father  Treanor's  death, 
a  little  celebration  had  been  planned  in  the  college  for  the  7th 
of  the  month,  and,  as  all  arrangements  had  been  made  for  it, 
it  could  not  be  delayed.  It  was  a  reception  to  Father  Villarasa, 
O.  P.,  Provincial  of  the  Dominican  Fathers  on  the  Coast,  in 
honor  of  the  Golden  Jubilee  of  his  religious  profession.  He 
had  celebrated  the  day  itself  at  Benicia  on  the  30th  of  Septem- 
ber in  the  midst  of  his  brethren,  and  he  was  invited  to  pass  its 
octave  with  the  children  of  St.  Ignatius,  who  for  thirty  years 
in  California  had  known  and  appreciated  his  noble  virtues  and 
affection.  A  dinner  was  therefore  given  in  his  honor  at  which 
he  presided,  and  afterwards  a  modest  entertainment  in  the 
recreation-room  of  the  Fathers.  The  tribute  was  indeed  a 
slight  one  to  sterling  virtue,  but  its  very  simplicity  marked  the 
family  affection  that  bound  together  the  two  Orders. 

Some  weeks  later,  Father  Brunengo  commenced  a  course 
of  lectures  on  ethics  and  natural  right  to  some  young  gentle- 
men of  the  city,  chiefly  law  students.  The  meetings  were  held 
in  the  evening,  since  that  was  the  only  time  at  which  attend- 
ance could  be  assured.     It  was  a  step  in  the  right  direction 


246  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

towards  the  widening  of  the  sphere  of  the  education  imparted 
by  St.  Ignatius,  and  though  circumstances  prevented  its  per- 
petuation, it  was  another  proof  of  the  broad  minds  of  those  who 
directed  affairs. 

1881. 

It  is  with  much  pleasure  that  we  have  mentioned  above, 
the  reception  given  the  esteemed  Dominican,  the  Very  Rev. 
Sadoc  Villarasa;  it  is  with  equal  pleasure  that  we  record  that 
given  to  an  equally  dear  friend  among  the  secular  clergy,  Rt. 
Rev.  Patrick  Manogue,  coadjutor  of  the  Bishop  of  Grass  Valley, 
and  afterwards  his  successor  and  Bishop  of  Sacramento.  On 
the  5th  of  January,  Father  Manogue  took  up  his  abode  at  St. 
Ignatius,  and,  on  the  10th,  began  his  retreat  preparatory  to 
consecration.  On  the  same  day,  Bishop  O'Connell  also  took 
up  his  residence  with  us,  and  likewise  entered  into  retreat. 
The  consecration  took  place  in  Old  St.  Mary's,  Father  Buchard 
preaching  on  the  occasion.  The  reception  took  place  next  day 
at  noon  in  the  college  hall,  after  which  a  dinner  was  given  to 
the  new  Bishop,  a  large  number  of  the  clergy  of  his  diocese, 
and  several  gentlemen,  his  intimate  friends;  for  the  big-hearted 
Bishop  Manogue  was  the  popular  choice  of  clergy  and  laity 
alike.  After  a  visit  to  Santa  Clara  and  a  reception  by  its  faculty, 
the  Bishop  remained  a  guest  of  St.  Ignatius  until  the  27th  of 
the  month,  when  he  left  to  receive  the  congratulations  of  those 
over  whose  spiritual  welfare  he  was  to  watch  so  loved  and 
loving  for  many  years. 

On  the  30th,  the  Sunday  following  the  Bishop's  departure, 
a  work  which,  while  it  lasted,  did  incalculable  good,  and  which 
was  discontinued  only  when  it  could  be  done  by  others,  was 
started  by  the  ever-active  zeal  of  Father  Kenna.  It  was  the 
Girls'  Sunday-school,  which  in  time  reached  vast  proportions, 
and  enlisted  the  active  co-operation  of  many  of  the  most  promi- 
nent Catholic  ladies  of  the  city.  It  began,  as  we  learn  from  an 
account  published  in  the  following  year,  with  nine  pupils  and 
one  teacher;  but  so  rapid  was  its  growth  that  in  a  single  year 
the  pupils  had  increased  to  seven  hundred  and  the  teachers 
to  forty-five. 


REV.  R.  E.  KENNA,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        247 

It  was,  as  was  only  proper,  a  good  work  under  the  direction 
of  the  Fathers,  rather  than  a  work  of  the  Fathers  themselves; 
for  its  success  was  the  immediate  fruit  of  the  labor  and  self- 
sacrifice  of  the  devoted  lady  catechists,  among  whom  Miss  Lucas 
Harvey  merits  special  mention — ladies  who  gave  their  time 
and  talents  to  the  instruction  of  their  own  sex;  but  such  work 
needed  encouragement,  and  organization,  and  a  place  in  which 
it  could  be  properly  performed,  and  to  supply  these  no  one 
could  be  better  fitted  than  was  Father  Kenna.  At  first  the 
children  met  in  one  of  the  chapels  attached  to  the  church,  but 
this  was  soon  too  small,  and  the  large  exhibition  hall  was  put 
at  their  disposal. 

But  while  interested  in  this  good  work,  Father  Kenna,  as 
college  president,  was  not  unmindful  of  the  desirability  of 
cementing  the  union  of  college  graduates  among  themselves 
and  with  Alma  Mater.  In  early  February,  therefore,  he  sent 
out  invitations  to  attend  a  meeting  having  in  view  the  formation 
of  an  Alumni  Association,  and,  on  the  25th  of  the  month, 
he  succeeded  in  effecting  it  with  Hon.  J.  F.  Sullivan,  A.  M. 
(class  '70),  president;  Robert  Tobin,  A.  M.  (class  '72), 
vice-president;  Florence  McAuliffe,  A.  B.  (class  '75 ),  sec- 
retary; Alfred  T.  Kelly,  A.  B.  (class  '75),  treasurer.  The  execu- 
tive committee  consisted  of  Rev.  R.  E.  Kenna,  S.  J.;  Thomas 
D.  Riordan,  A.  M.,  '73;  Joseph  Pescia,  A.  B.,  M.  D.,  '75;  John 
T.  Fogarty,  A.  M.,  '75;  James  I.  Boland,  A.  M.,  '75;  Alfred 
Tobin,  A.  B.,  '76;  Matt.  I.  Sullivan,  A.  B.,  '76;  J.  J.  Mont- 
gomery, S.  M.,  '79. 

The  devotion  of  the  old  boys  to  Alma  Mater,  and  be  it  said 
to  their  praise,  especially  of  the  graduates  of  the  Seventies,  had 
made  Father  Kenna's  task  a  comparatively  easy  one.  Even 
as  early  as  May  30th,  1878,  the  graduating  classes  of  '75,  '76 
and  '77  had  anticipated  the  alumni  reunions  by  holding  a 
banquet  at  the  Maison  Doree,  Alfred  Tobin,  '76,  presiding.  The 
gathering  was  large  and  enthusiastic.  The  trials,  and  suc- 
cesses, and  varied  incidents  of  college  life  were  rehearsed  amid 
much  applause,  and  when  it  was  proposed  to  renew  college 
friendships  by  a  yearly  banquet,  there  was  no  dissenting  voice. 
James  I.  Boland  was  chosen  to  preside  at  the  reunion  of  the 


248  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

following  year.  The  alumni  of  St.  Ignatius  had  been  the  first 
among  Catholic  colleges  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  thus  to  honor 
Alma  Mater. 

The  spiritual  welfare  of  the  congregation  received  no  less 
care  from  the  zeal  of  Father  Kenna  than  did  the  varied 
interests  of  the  college;  and  Rev.  Bernard  Maguire  and  Jere- 
miah O'Connor  of  the  Maryland-New  York  Province  were 
invited  to  give  a  mission.  They  arrived  on  Saturday,  February 
26th.  The  church  was  over-crowded  morning  and  evening, 
and  the  attendance  was  very  large  in  the  afternoon.  In 
fact,  so  great  was  the  throng  of  adults  that,  to  give  what 
accommodations  were  possible,  children  were  not  allowed  at 
night  to  attend  the  exercises.  For  them,  there  was  an  instruc- 
tion in  the  afternoon  at  4  o'clock,  and  they  filled  the  church 
to  overflowing.  In  the  second  week  of  the  mission,  the 
numbers  were  such  that  they  had  to  be  divided,  the  girls 
assisting  one  day  and  the  boys  the  next.  The  church  soon 
became  too  small  for  the  adults  that  crowded  the  pews  and 
packed  the  aisles,  and  the  consequence  was  that  hundreds 
nightly  had  to  go  away,  failing  to  find  even  standing  room. 
On  the  Friday  and  Saturday  nights  preceding  the  closing  of 
the  mission,  five  Fathers  were  employed  until  midnight  in 
hearing  confessions  in  the  basement  of  the  church,  besides  the 
dozen  ordinary  confessors  upstairs.  On  the  Sunday  itself,  Com- 
munion began  to  be  distributed  by  two  Fathers  at  a  quarter 
past  five  o'clock,  and  continued  almost  without  interruption 
until  late  in  the  morning. 

At  10:30  a.  m.  the  church  was  a  mass  of  attentive  lis- 
teners, hundreds  of  them  standing,  as  Father  Maguire  eloquently 
discoursed  on  the  "Institution  and  Beauties  of  the  Divine  Sac- 
rifice." At  2  p.  m.  the  sacred  edifice  was  filled  with  children, 
to  whom  Father  O'Connor  made  a  stirring  address  suited  to 
the  needs  of  childhood.  At  4  p.  m.  the  Gentlemen's  and  Ladies' 
Sodalities,  that  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and  the  members  of  the 
Bona  Mors,  gathered  for  a  last  instruction;  and  so  packed  was 
the  church  in  the  evening,  that  the  Brother  Sacristan  could  not 
make  his  way  to  light  the  various  gas  jets,  but  had  to  be  con- 
tent with  such  as  he  could  reach.  Memorials  of  the  mission 
were  distributed  at  the  doors  of  the  church  during  the  day,  and 


ST.  JOSEPH'S  ALTAR 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         249 

the  number  given  out  was  fifteen  thousand.  Well  might  the 
Fathers  be  content  with  the  rich  harvest  of  spiritual  blessings 
reaped  in  those  days.  On  the  16th  of  March,  carrying  with 
them  the  benediction  of  thousands,  the  good  missionaries  set  out 
for  their  Eastern  home. 

On  the  29th  of  the  month,  the  new  altar  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier  was  in  course  of  erection,  and,  on  the  31st,  the  relics  of 
St.  Placidus  were  placed  under  it.  This  altar  was  the  gift  of 
Mr.  Daniel  Murphy.  The  following  description  of  it  appeared 
about  this  time : 

"The  altar  is  a  combination  of  rare  marbles,  among  which 
verde  antico,  maroon  variegated,  blue  variegated  and  white 
marble  predominate.  Several  panels  of  chalcedony  add  beauty  to 
this  rare  gem  of  architecture.  The  altar  is  twelve  feet  in  length. 
It  is  fashioned  in  a  succession  of  shelves,  with  a  central  porch  or 
tabernacle."  This  tabernacle  was  subsequently  removed.  "The 
holdings  are  all  in  blue  variegated  marble.  Within  an  open 
sarcophagus,  rests  upon  yellow  satin  cushions  the  wax  image 
of  Placidus,  the  martyr.  The  figure  is  robed  in  the  most  costly 
vestments  of  crimson,  with  white  satin  tunic,  the  whole  elabo- 
rately embroidered  in  gold;  sandals  are  on  the  feet.  The  face 
of  the  martyr  is  very  beautiful.  Brown  curls  clustering  over  the 
brow  add  a  charm  to  the  expression  which  is  calm  and  strikingly 
natural.  A  gaping  wound  at  the  throat  tells  of  the  tragic  death. 
Above  the  altar,  marble  shafts  support  a  marble  pediment,  the 
whole  about  twenty  feet  in  height.  The  architecture  is  of  Parian, 
the  frieze  of  red-veined  marble,  the  cornice  of  white,  and  the 
pediment  of  garnet  marble.  The  shafts  are  likewise  of  garnet 
marble,  and  with  these  is  a  framework  of  verde  antico,  with  onyx 
slabs  at  intervals.  St.  Francis  Xavier's  picture  adorns  the  center 
of  the  slab.  The  frescos  upon  the  sides  and  roof  are  very  beau- 
tiful. The  niche  in  which  the  altar  stands  is  30  feet  in  height 
by  15  in  width." 

From  the  same  pen  we  have  a  description  of  St.  Aloysius' 
altar,  which  was  erected  about  the  same  time.  This  altar  was 
paid  for  by  the  offerings  of  various  persons;  the  pupils  of 
the  college  contributing  to  its  erection.  The  names  of  the 
donors,  as  a  memorial  of  their  piety,  were    placed    under  the 


250  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

cushion  that  supports  the  head  of  the  recumbent  figure  of  the 
Saint. 

"This  altar,  of  the  finest  marbles,  was  imported  from  Rome. 
It  is  of  purest  Parian,  built  up  in  various  shelves,  and  supported 
by  fluted  and  gilded  columns  of  marble.  At  intervals  over  the 
marble  faces,  bronze-gilt  ornaments  are  affixed.  The  carvings 
in  basso  relievo  upon  the  facades  are  exquisitely  chiseled  and 
bold.  Under  the  center  of  the  altar  is  an  open  sarcophagus,  in 
which  is  the  waxen  image  of  St.  Aloysius.  The  following 
inscription,  in  intaglio,  is  over  the  sarcophagus:  'Consummates 
in  brevi  explevit  tempora  multa' :  'Being  made  perfect  in  a  short 
space,  he  fulfilled  a  long  time.'  Above  the  altar,  a  couple  of 
artists  have  executed  an  exquisite  fresco.  The  interior  of  a 
dome,  blue  as  the  arch  of  heaven,  caps  the  fresco.  Under  the 
dome,  two  angels  perch  upon  the  cornice,  having  just  made 
their  entrance  through  the  portals  on  either  side  of  the  alcove 
which  holds  the  altar.  Through  the  oval  portals,  the  blue  firma- 
ment is  seen.  Angelic  hands  hold  a  crown  of  gold  and  emerald. 
The  robes  of  the  celestial  visitants  are  of  blue  and  purple.  From 
the  crown,  gracefully  falling  in  rich  folds  are  warm  purple  and 
orange  draperies  that  are  looped  back  over  the  capitals  of  the 
supporting  shafts.  Around  these  columns,  rolling  back,  almost 
hiding  them,  are  pink  draperies  with  broad  gold  fringes. 
Across  the  top  of  these,  a  festoon  of  lilies,  emblematical  of  purity, 
is  suspended  from  side  to  side.  The  center  of  the  fresco  is  occu- 
pied by  an  oil  painting  of  St.  Aloysius." 

Holy  Saturday,  this  year,  April  16th,  brought  a  repetition 
of  the  confessions  of  Father  Maguire's  mission,  and  again  the 
five  extra  confessors  were  utilized  until  midnight.  On  the  same 
evening,  the  new  throne  for  the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  put  in 
place,  to  be  ready  for  the  Solemn  Benediction  to  be  given  on 
Easter  night.  It  is  a  wood  carving  of  magnificent  design.  "It 
is  of  oak,  gilded,"  says  the  writer  whom  we  lately  quoted  when 
speaking  of  the  altars  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  and  St.  Aloysius, 
"and  consists  of  nine  angels  effectively  grouped.  At  the  sum- 
mit of  the  arch  are  two  little  cherubs  with  outstretched  wings, 
each  supporting,  with  chubby  hands,  the  golden  drapery  which 
falls  in  massive  folds  and  is  looped  on  either  side.     Below  this, 


ALTAR  OI-    ST.   ALOVSIUS 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        251 

at  the  supporting  columns  on  either  side,  are  two  angels  some- 
what larger,  also  with  outspread  wings.  At  the  base  of  the 
columns  are  two  angels  of  grander  proportions,  each  supporting 
a  candelabrum.  Within  this  span  of  the  arch,  and  kneeling  in 
dissimilar  attitudes,  are  three  cherubs.  The  central  figure  sup- 
ports, with  arms  extended  above  his  head,  the  book  of  the  seven 
seals  of  the  Apocalypse.  The  golden  book  affords  a  base  upon 
which  to  rest  the  monstrance.  One  cherub  bears  aloft  a  golden 
chalice,  while  the  other  exhibits  a  cluster  of  grapes  and  wisps 
of  wheat,  symbolical  of  the  bread  and  wine,  which,  in  turn,  sym- 
bolize the  body  and  blood  of  the  Redeemer.  Within  the  back- 
ground afforded  by  the  draperies  and  columns,  is  the  emblem  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  dove  with  scintillating  beams.  This  rich 
allegorical  group,  rising  as  it  does  before  the  elaborate  altar 
painting  representing  the  glory  of  St.  Ignatius,  greatly  adds  to 
the  effect  of  the  main  altar."  The  beauty  of  the  altar  had  already 
been  further  enhanced  by  deepening  the  receptacle  that  held  the 
picture  of  St.  Ignatius;  so  that  the  glory  of  the  feast  found  fit- 
ting expression  in  the  new  splendors  of  art  added  to  God's  temple. 

The  statue  of  St.  Joseph,  which  arrived  for  the  Fathers' 
garden  on  April  4th,  had  its  pedestal  prepared  in  the  early  days 
of  May.  The  blessing  took  place  on  the  8th,  and  was  performed 
by  Rev.  Father  Kenna  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  Com- 
munity, and  St.  Joseph  was  constituted  its  patron  and  protector. 
It  was,  however,  but  the  outward  manifestation  of  what  had 
always  been  in  everybody's  heart;  for  he  would  indeed  be  a 
strange  follower  of  Jesus,  who  would  not  cherish  St.  Joseph  with 
filial  affection.  With  the  end  of  the  month,  the  school  year  came 
to  a  close,  and  crowded  halls  told  of  a  city's  appreciation  of  the 
work  that  was  being  done.  In  fact,  the  number  of  persons 
accepting  invitations,  exceeded  the  capacity  of  the  hall ;  and  sev- 
eral, even  intimate  friends  of  the  institution,  whom  circum- 
stances did  not  permit  to  anticipate  the  commencement  of  the 
exercises,  could  not  find  even  standing  room,  so  dense  was 
the  throng. 

With  the  departure  of  Mr.  Dominic  Giacobbi,  S.  J.,  during 
the  preceding  August,  the  musical  society  in  the  college  ceased. 
It  therefore  no  longer  appears  in  the  yearly  catalogue.     Music, 


252  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

however,  underwent  a  partial  revival  in  the  following  October, 
when  a  singing  class  was  organized,  and  Mr.  J.  Manning  engaged 
to  teach  it. 

The  church  was  meanwhile  increasing  in  beauty,  as  altar 
after  altar  was  completed.  On  the  ioth  of  June,  the  altars  of 
St.  Francis  Xavier  and  of  St.  Aloysius  were  ready  for  conse- 
cration, and  the  ceremony  was  performed  by  His  Grace,  Arch- 
bishop Alemany,  who  afterwards  said  mass  at  the  altar  of  St. 
Francis.  On  the  19th,  the  altar  was  exposed  to  public  view,  and 
Father  Varsi  said  mass  at  it.  The  first  mass  at  the  altar  of  St. 
Aloysius  was  said  by  the  same  Father  on  the  feast  of  the  saint 
two  days  later. 

The  changes  in  the  faculty  this  year  were  less  numerous  than 
those  of  last.  In  early  July,  Father  Joseph  Dossola  replaced 
Father  Leggio  as  vice-president;  and  later,  Father  Aloysius 
Raggio  took  the  place  of  Mr.  Daniel  Crowley  as  prefect  of  the 
junior  students;  Mr.  Crowley  devoted  his  time  to  the  study  of 
theology.  Mr.  John  Walshe,  S.  J.,  went  to  Santa  Clara,  and 
Messrs.  Thomas  Boland  and  Francis  Shafer  came  thence  to 
take  charge  of  classes. 

Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Raimondi  of  Hongkong,  China,  who 
happened  to  be  in  San  Francisco  at  the  time,  graciously  ac- 
cepted the  invitation  of  the  Fathers  to  pontificate  on  the  Feast 
of  St.  Ignatius.  On  August  12th,  the  pupils  of  the  college 
tendered  him  and  Bishop-elect  Hermann,  coadjutor  to  Bishop 
Maigret  of  Honolulu,  a  reception  in  the  college  hall.  Fathers 
Aubert  and  Leonor,  religious  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Sacred 
Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  to  which  Congregation  Father  Her- 
mann belonged,  accompanied  him.  Our  readers  will  realize 
better  the  pleasure  of  the  occasion,  when  they  remember  that 
this  Congregation  is  the  Congregation  of  Picpus,  which,  in  the 
early  Fifties,  sent  her  zealous  sons  to  the  shores  of  California 
as  she  has  spread  them  with  such  glory  to  the  Church,  through 
the  islands  of  the  broad  Pacific.  Thus  were  the  two  Orders. 
Jesuits  and  Picpus  Fathers  once  more  united  in  a  land  in  which 
they  were  the  first  religious  bodies  to  divide  the  missionary 
field  after  the  American  occupation. 

On  the  19th  of  the  following  month,  the  college  was  called 
upon  to  join  in  the  national  mourning  caused  by  the  death  of 


ALTAR   OF   ST.   FRANCIS   XAVIER 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        253 

President  Garfield.  On  the  23rd,  His  Grace,  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop,  prescribed  that  the  mass  "Pro  quacumque  necessi- 
tate" be  celebrated  on  the  26th  in  all  the  churches  of  the  Arch- 
diocese, and  that  prayers  be  offered  up  for  our  country  in  its 
affliction.  On  the  day  appointed,  the  day  of  the  funeral  of  the 
deceased  President,  a  Solemn  High  Mass  was  celebrated  in  the 
church,  and  a  brief  but  forceful  sermon  was  delivered  by  Father 
Kenna,  in  part  eulogistic  of  the  dead,  in  part  a  warning  to 
parents  concerning  the  evils  that  flow  from  a  lack  of  respect 
for   authority,  especially  in  the  young. 

The  buildings  had  been  appropriately  draped  in  black,  and, 
after  mass,  students,  and  faculty,  and  members  of  the  Gentle- 
men's Sodality,  left  the  college  to  take  part  in  the  public 
procession. 

They  formed  at  the  college  on  Grove  Street,  then  marched 
in  excellent  order  to  the  place  assigned  them.  Here  the 
boys  waited,  as  patiently  as  boys  could,  for  about  two  hours, 
until  at  1:15  p.  m  their  time  came  to  start.  All  had  proceeded 
harmoniously  up  to  this.  But  soon  the  word  was  circulated 
that  the  Industrial  School  Band  was  to  head  their  division. 
Then  the  trouble  began.  The  boys  protested  that  they  would 
not  budge  an  inch  unless  given  another  band.  But  wiser  coun- 
sels prevailed,  and  they  allowed  themselves  to  be  persuaded 
by  their  teachers,  not  to  be  a  cause  of  trouble  on  such  an  occa- 
sion. The  sacrifice  was  no  slight  one  in  their  eyes,  for  their 
fancies  pictured  that  the  city  would  take  them  for  Industrial 
School  boys  if  they  followed  its  band,  and  this  cut  their  pride 
deeply.  Assured  that  no  sane  mind  would  mistake  them  for 
boys  from  the  reformatory,  they  wheeled  into  line,  and  some 
five  hundred  strong,  were  a  marked  feature  of  the  procession. 
After  two  hours  of  marching,  they  returned  to  the  college,  but 
there  was  still  the  protest  about  the  band. 

"St.  Ignatius  turned  out  a  large  division  under  Father 
Kenna,"  says  an  eye-witness.  "A  feature  of  this  body  (the 
nth  division)  was  a  large  delegation  of  the  juvenile  members 
of  the  college,  who  waited  patiently,  on  the  sunny  sidewalk, 
to  fall  in  with  the  column  when  it  came  up,  and  seemed  no-wise 
appalled  at  the  tiresome  and  tedious  march  before  them."    The 


254 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


observer  was  right.  The  sun,  and  the  wait,  and  the  weary 
march  were  patiently  borne  with;  but  the  band — there  was 
the  rub. 

Father  Varsi  was  at  this  time  in  the  Eastern  States,  having 
gone  thither  on  September  8th  in  the  company  of  Mr.  Joseph 
Donohoe.  During  his  absence,  which  lasted  over  two  months, 
Father  Congiato  supplied  his  place.  Father  Varsi  was  conse- 
quently absent  both  from  the  first  entertainment  of  the 
Gentlemen's  Sodality  given  in  the  basement  of  the  church  on 
September  29th,  and  the  first  Alumni  banquet  on  October  19th. 

The  idea  of  adding  the  social  to  the  religious  side  of  the 
Gentlemen's  Sodality,  though,  of  course,  in  a  subordinate  de- 
gree, had  not  originated  with  the  genial  Father  Patrick  Kelly, 
who,  in  August,  had  replaced  Father  Joseph  Neri  as  director; 
but  it  was  his  merit,  and  not  a  small  one,  to  succeed  in  devising 
ways  and  means  by  which  this  praiseworthy  object  was  attained. 
Even  on  October  1st,  1873,  the  Sodality  had  appointed  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  the  Reverend  Father  Director,  Csesar  A. 
Barchi,  S.  J.;  the  Prefect,  Mr.  J.  H.  Adams;  together  with 
Messrs.  P.  McEntyre,  P.  Lynch,  and  J.  F.  Sullivan,  "to  consider 
the  advisability  of  holding  some  entertainment  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  the  Sodalists  together  and  increasing  the  funds  in 
the  treasury."  With  the  growth  of  the  Sodality,  the  increase 
of  funds  was  not  pressing,  and  Father  Kelly,  therefore,  could 
look  solely  to  the  primary  object:  "The  bringing  of  the  Sodal- 
ists together."  The  entertainment  was  held  in  the  basement 
of  the  church,  in  the  room  now  devoted  to  the  Sewing  Circle, 
and  about  four  hundred  people  were  present.  It  was  a  family 
affair  for  the  Sodalists  and  their  friends;  given  by  the  Sodalists, 
among  whom  talent  of  all  kind  was  easily  found;  and  so  success- 
ful, that  the  director  resolved  to  have  several  others  during  the 
winter  months. 

1882. 
The  3rd  of  February  of  this  year,  marks  the  introduction  of 
the  ceremony  of  the  blessing  of  the  throats  on  the  Feast  of 
St.  Blasius,  a  ceremony  since  adopted  by  many  other  churches 
of  the  city  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  faithful,  and,  let  us  hope, 
even  of  those  who  are  not  of  the  faith;  for  not  a  few  non- 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        255 

Catholics  and  even  some  Jews  are  known  to  have  presented 
themselves  for  the  blessing.  On  the  first  of  the  following 
month,  Fathers  Philip  Cardella  and  Francis  Crispolti  left  St. 
Ignatius  for  New  York  to  labor  among  the  Spanish-speaking 
Catholics  of  that  city.  They  had  arrived  in  San  Francisco  on 
July  16th,  1881,  having  been  expelled  by  the  anti-Catholic 
element  of  Nicaragua.  Though  most  useful  in  California,  a 
wider  field  for  their  zeal  was  presented  by  the  Eastern  metrop- 
olis and  hence  their  transference  thither. 

A  few  days  passed,  and  Archbishop  Charles  Seghers  of  Port- 
land, Oregon,  the  future  Martyr-Bishop  of  Alaska,  arrived  at 
the  college.  As  he  entered  immediately  upon  a  spiritual  retreat, 
it  was  impossible  either  for  the  faculty  or  the  student  body  to 
express  publicly  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held.  His  retreat, 
however,  was  over  by  the  14th  of  the  month,  and  then  in  verse 
and  prose  the  young  hearts  of  the  students  expressed  what 
they  sincerely  felt.  To  one  of  his  servers  at  mass,  he  presented 
as  a  little  memento,  a  picture  with .  the  motto  which  had  had 
such  an  influence  on  his  own  life,  "Crux,  lux  mea."  "O  cross, 
my  light."  Truly  it  was  love  of  the  cross  alone  that  had  induced 
him  to  abandon  friends  and  country  for  our  Western  shores; 
that  had  led  him  to  give  up  his  archbishopric  for  the  bleak  and 
frozen  wastes  of  the  Northern  wilds ;  that  had  strengthened  him 
to  put  up  with  privations  and  ill-treatment  for  the  love  of 
souls,  until  a  violent  death  cut  him  down  in  the  prime  of  life. 
The  cross  had  been  his  light,  and,  in  its  brightness,  had  he  walked 
securely  to  eternal  rest. 

April  and  May  witnessed  a  couple  of  pretty  ceremonies 
in  our  church,  when  two  of  the  old  pupils  of  St.  Ignatius  entered 
into  the  matrimonial  state  with  nuptial  mass  and  all  the  bless- 
ings proper  of  that  happy  occasion.  The  first  was  the  union  of 
Mr.  John  Parrott  and  Miss  Minnie  Donohoe;  the  second  that 
of  Mr.  Frank  Sullivan  and  Miss  Alice  Phelan.  Splendor 
combined  with  delicate  taste  characterized  each  occasion, 
and  seldom  had  the  church,  in  its  beauty,  appeared  to  greater 
advantage. 

The  college  was  prospering  with  its  780  pupils  and  nine 
graduates  received  their  degrees ;  four,  that  of  Bachelor  of  Arts ; 
and  five,  that  of  Bachelor  of  Science. 


256  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

The  changes  in  the  faculty  were  more  numerous  than  usual. 
Father  Florence  Sullivan,  after  years  of  successful  teaching,  was, 
in  August,  devoted  to  the  works  of  the  ministry,  as  was  also 
Father  Celestine  Galliano,  though  seemingly  somewhat  later 
in  the  year.  Father  Aloysius  Brunengo,  Messrs.  John  J.  Cun- 
ningham, Daniel  Crowley,  John  Moore,  Michael  McKey, 
Michael  Shallo,  Julius  Egloffstein  and  Thomas  Boland,  S.  J., 
no  longer  formed  part  of  the  faculty.  In  their  places,  we  find 
Fathers  Joseph  Sasia  and  Paul  Mans,  Messrs.  Dionysius 
Mahony,  Richard  Gleeson,  William  Culligan  and  Vincent 
Chiappa. 

On  the  24th  of  September,  Father  Prelato,  by  a  Solemn 
Mass,  celebrated  the  Silver  Jubilee  of  his  priesthood.  On  the  eve 
of  the  celebration,  the  pupils  of  the  college  assembled  in  the 
hall  to  present  their  congratulations  to  one  who  had  labored  so 
long  and  zealously  for  their  welfare;  and  earnestly  did  they 
express  their  wish  that,  both  he  and  they,  might  meet  again  on 
the  occasion  of  his  Golden  Jubilee,  a  wish  which  for  most  there 
is  every  hope  of  realization,  as  only  -two  years  are  now  lacking 
of  the  happy  event. 

"Perhaps  we  may  touch  the  most  tender  chord  in  the  loving 
heart  of  the  zealous  priest,"  writes  an  admirer  in  reference  to  the 
celebration,  "if  we  say  that  among  the  many  duties  which  have 
filled  his  active  life,  none  display  more  fully  the  entire  energy 
of  his  broad  affections  than  when  we  find  him  engaged  in  the 
direction  of  youth. 

With  the  exception  of  two  or  three  years,  during  which  he 
was  the  chaplain  of  the  Industrial  School,  Father  Prelato  has 
been  director  of  the  Boys'  Sodality  connected  with  St.  Ignatius 
Church;  and,  to  be  convinced  of  the  mutual  attachment  between 
the  Father  and  the  boys,  one  needs  but  pay  them  a  casual  visit 
when  together  in  their  place  of  meeting.  In  this  trait,  the  true 
minister  of  God  imitates  the  perfect  model  of  our  Savior,  who 
pronounced  it  his  delight  to  be  with  the  children  of  men.     .     .     . 

That  the  goodness  of  God  may  bless  the  much-loved  Father 
with  a  long  and  happy  life  of  usefulness  for  his  greater  glory 
and  the  good  of  souls,  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  his  grateful  and 
affectionate  children  in  the  classroom,  the  congregation,  and  in 
the  world." 


FATHER  CHARLES  MESSEA,  S.  J. 
FATHER  FLORENCE  SULLIVAN,  S.  J. 


FATHER  FRANCIS  I.  PRELATO,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        257 

Continuous  labors  for  years  in  the  missionary  field  had 
begun,  only  too  surely,  to  undermine  the  naturally  sound  consti- 
tution of  Father  Buchard;  and  hence  physicians  recommended 
a  rest,  and  a  voyage  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  generosity 
of  a  kind  friend  came  in  to  defray  expenses,  and,  in  the  middle 
of  December,  the  Father  set  sail  for  Honolulu,  to  return  only  on 
the  21st  of  March  of  the  following  year. 

He  was  not  alone,  however,  the  recipient  of  the  kind  favors  of 
the  benefactors  of  St.  Ignatius.  The  poor  of  the  city  shared 
with  him  in  their  bounty.  On  December  21st,  the  Francesca 
Society  gave  its  gifts  to  the  needy,  in  even  greater  abundance 
than  usual.  This  society,  named  after  St.  Frances  of  Rome, 
is  composed  of  a  number  of  charitable  ladies  of  the  city,  who 
emulate  in  their  love  for  Christ's  needy  ones,  the  charity  of  the 
Saint,  their  patroness.  Mrs.  Bertha  Welch  has  been  the  mov- 
ing spirit  of  the  organization  for  years,  and  many  and  sincere 
are  the  benedictions  of  the  poor  at  Christmas  on  herself  and  her 
devoted  associates. 

Requested  for  a  brief  account  of  the  organization,  we  have 
the  following  from  the  lady's  pen : 

"In  the  Lent  of  1878,  some  young  ladies,  headed  by  Miss 
Thompson,  met  at  Mrs.  Welch's  home  to  sew  for  the  poor. 
The  first  donation  of  material  was  obtained  for  them  by  Rev. 
C.  A.  Barchi,  S.  J.,  who,  at  the  same  time,  placed  the  little  society 
under  the  patronage  of  St.  Frances  of  Rome. 

On  the  14th  of  April,  rooms  at  11 1  Turk  Street  were 
engaged  for  their  meetings,  Father  Florence  J.  Sullivan,  S.  J., 
having  found  friends  who  agreed  to  become  honorary  members 
and  help  the  society  by  monthly  contributions.  Among  the 
latter,  was  Mrs.  James  Follis,  who  for  several  years  contributed 
generously. 

The  first  election  of  officers  took  place  the  same  year,  when 
Mrs.  Rosecrans,  wife  of  General  Rosecrans,  was  elected  presi- 
dent; Mrs.  James  A.  Thompson,  vice-president;  Miss  Kathleen 
Thompson,  treasurer;  and  Mrs.  Katherine  Walsh,  secretary. 
Among  its  first  members  were  Mrs.  George  Knox,  Mrs.  P.  J. 
White,  Mrs.  Wm.  Bryan,  Mrs.  George  Rossiter,  Miss  Harriet 
Skidmore,  Miss  M.  Thompson,  Miss  Barry,  Miss  Elsie  Pardow, 


258  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

Miss  L.  Abbott,  Miss  Mary  Shea,  Miss  Hoffman,  Miss  N.  Sulli- 
van, Mrs.  Andrew  Welch,  Mrs.  Le  Breton. 

At  Christmas,  1878,  twelve  children  were  clothed  in  honor 
of  the  childhood  of  our  Lord ;  and  the  custom  of  dressing  chil- 
dren and  giving  them  a  Christmas-tree  festival,  and  of  giving 
groceries  to  poor  people,  was  begun  and  has  since  continued. 

The  average  number  of  children  dressed  is  now  from  two 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred.  The  number  of  families  to 
whom  groceries  are  given  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty.  This 
year,  1904,  twelve  families  were  given  Christmas  dinners. 

During  1878  and  1879,  years  of  much  misery  in  the  city, 
groceries  were  distributed  every  Tuesday.  About  Christmas, 
1878,  Rev.  A.  Varsi,  S.  J.,  interested  himself  in  the  society,  and 
obtained  for  it  a  large  gift  of  goods  from  Mr.  D.  Murphy  of 
Murphy,  Grant  &  Co.  From  that  date,  Father  Varsi  assisted  it 
in  all  its  needs,  giving  it  rooms  in  the  church  of  St.  Ignatius, 
where  it  has  been  since  May  23rd,  1880,  at  which  time  Father 
Varsi  took  personal  direction  of  the  society  and  drew  up  its  rules. 

In  January,  1899,  the  society  began  a  training  school  for 
girls,  which  school  was  placed  under  the  direction  of  Mrs. 
Slevin  and  Miss  Mellis.  The  Francesca  Society,  after  a  year, 
finding  that  it  had  grown  beyond  it,  gave  up  its  management." 

A  few  years  before  Father  Varsi's  death  he  had  the  Fran- 
cesca Society  incorporated,  in  order  that  it  might  be  legally 
capable  of  receiving  bequests.  Of  two  we  have  record:  one  of 
$3,000  from  Mrs.  Oliver;  the  other  of  $2,000  from  Mr.  James 
Russell.  May  the  society  long  prosper  in  the  generous  sacrifices 
of  its  friends  and  associates,  for  what  is  done  for  the  poor  of 
the  Master,  is  done  for  Him! 

1883. 
With  the  beginning  of  January,  Father  Varsi  ceased  to  be 
Superior  of  the  Californian  Mission,  Father  Nicholas  Congiato, 
with  residence  in  San  Jose,  replacing  him.  The  catalogue  of 
the  Turin  Province  assigns  the  date  as  January  1st.  This, 
however,  seems  to  mean  the  day  on  which  the  appointment 
arrived,  not  the  day  of  its  official  announcement.  On  January 
2nd,  Father  Varsi  made  a  trip  to  San  Jose  and  returned  to  St. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         259 

Ignatius  in  the  evening.  Nothing  was  said  of  any  change  and 
none  had  taken  place.  The  announcement  was  made  on  Janu- 
ary 6th,  and  after  a  little  over  five  years  of  ceaseless  labor, 
Father  Varsi  turned  the  management  of  affairs  over  to  his  suc- 
cessor, and  retired  to  the  ranks  of  the  Order,  though  by  no 
means  to  inactivity  in  the  promotion  of  St.  Ignatius'  welfare. 
He  had  begun  the  magnificent  work,  there  were  still  many  beau- 
ties to  be  added  before  completion. 

On  the  17th  of  the  month,  he  went  to  the  Presidio  to  make 
arrangements  for  a  priest  to  attend  the  Catholic  soldiers.  Father 
Congiato  had,  on  the  preceding  evening,  come  up  to  the  city 
from  San  Jose,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  he  had  asked 
Father  Varsi,  as  better  posted  in  the  matter,  to  interview  the 
proper  authorities.  At  that  time,  the  church  nearest  the  Pre- 
sidio, was  St.  Bridget's,  the  clergy  of  which,  ever  zealous, 
did  what  was  in  their  power  to  attend  to  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  the  Catholic  soldiers;  but  distance  and  the  needs  of 
an  extensive  parish  necessarily  crippled  their  efforts.  St. 
Ignatius,  therefore,  had  again  the  honor  of  assisting  in  a  work 
of  zeal  in  which  much  spiritual  good  has  been  done. 

Father  Paul  Mans,  S.  J.,  who,  as  a  secular  priest,  had  for 
many  years  been  a  missionary  in  the  Northwest,  and  had 
attended  various  military  posts,  was  selected  as  best  suited  to 
understand  the  needs  of  the  soldiers.  Accommodations  were 
indeed  primitive.  An  attic,  for  church,  was  the  best  that  Uncle 
Sam  could  furnish,  and  this  was  in  the  sheds  of  the  ordnance 
department.  Some  two  hundred  soldiers  attended  mass  on  Sun- 
days, and  the  Father  visited  them  on  Thursdays,  besides  going 
on  Saturday  evenings  to  give  them  an  opportunity  for  confes- 
sion. With  the  progress  of  time  and  the  growth  of  the  city,  the 
Church  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  has  been  established  within  easy 
reach  of  the  garrison,  so  that  even  when  there  is  no  Catholic 
chaplain  at  the  post,  urgent  calls  can  easily  be  attended  to. 
Father  Prelato,  however,  still  visits  the  military  hospital,  and 
says  mass  every  Sunday  and  holy  day  in  the  chapel  which 
replaced  the  original  attic,  swept  away  by  fire  on  June  19th,  1895. 
His  seventy-six  years  are  no  damper  on  a  zeal  which  has  already, 
for  seventeen  years,  employed  itself  in  this  difficult  ministry. 


260  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

At  the  end  of  January,  1883,  Father  Celestine  Galliano  left 
St.  Ignatius  to  become  assistant  procurator  in  Santa  Clara.  In 
the  same  place,  on  March  31st,  Mr.  Daniel  Crowley,  S.  J.,  an 
old  student  of  St.  Ignatius,  and  for  many  years  connected  with 
it  as  teacher,  prefect  of  the  junior  students  and  sanctuary  director, 
peacefully  closed  a  short,  but  useful  career  by  a  pious  death.  A 
remarkably  sweet  disposition,  combined  with  clear,  practical  judg- 
ment, made  him  an  excellent  worker  in  the  Lord's  vineyard; 
but  the  Master  was  satisfied  with  the  labor  of  life's  morning 
hours,  and  called  his  servant  to  rest  before  imposing  upon  him 
the  burden  of  the  day  and  the  heat. 

On  the  5th  of  the  month,  Rev.  Father  Kenna  commenced, 
in  the  church,  a  mission  for  the  gentlemen  of  the  congregation; 
and,  a  week  later,  Father  Varsi  commenced  a  similar  one  for 
the  ladies.  Both  missions  were  eminently  successful.  Father 
Varsi  was  not  indeed  a  specially  gifted  speaker,  when  mere 
oratorical  delivery  was  considered,  but  his  deep,  penetrating 
mind,  richly  stored  with  the  science  of  the  spiritual  life,  and 
his  earnest  impressiveness  of  manner,  imparted  to  his  words 
a  wonderful  efficacy.  No  one  could  hear  him  and  not  feel  his 
power.  The  earnestness,  too,  of  Father  Kenna  was  long 
remembered. 

With  the  first  of  May,  came  Father  Xavier  Junquito,  S.  J., 
from  Panama  for  the  benefit  of  his  health — a  thin,  frail  man, 
whose  quiet  manner  was  graced  by  deep  learning  and  sincere 
piety.  The  climate  of  Santa  Clara  was  thought  better  suited  to 
his  condition,  and  so  his  stay  in  St.  Ignatius  was  short.  On 
November  10th  he  returned  to  San  Francisco  on  his  way  back 
to  the  Isthmus,  of  which  he  is  at  present  the  esteemed  Arch- 
bishop. On  the  22nd,  came  Father  Patrick  Healy  on  his  way  to 
Alaska;  and  on  the  24th,  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi,  Arch- 
bishop Vaughn  of  Sidney,  Australia,  was  celebrant  during  the 
procession  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  and  Benediction. 

The  term  of  Father  Kenna's  government  of  St.  Ignatius 
came  to  an  end  on  July  25th,  and  Father  Joseph  Sasia,  bringing 
to  the  office  equal  energy  of  character  and  desire  of  furthering 
the  best  interests  of  church  and  college,  succeeded  him.  The 
change,  however,  brought  no  rest  to  Father  Kenna,  for,  on  the 


FATHER  JOSEPH  DOSSOLA,  S.  J. 
FATHER  CELESTINE  GALLIANO,  S.  T. 


FATHER  PAUL  MANS,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        261 

next  day,  he  became  president  of  Santa  Clara  College,  his  prede- 
cessor, Father  John  Pinasco,  coming  to  St.  Ignatius  to  profess 
rhetoric  and  replace  Father  Patrick  Kelly  as  director  of  the 
Gentlemen's  Sodality. 

The  government  of  Father  Kenna  had,  as  the  source  of  its 
inspiration,  the  zeal  of  his  heart.  The  Sunday-schools,  the  col- 
lege, the  church,  all  bore  grateful  testimony  to  it.  In  laboring 
for  the  welfare  of  souls,  he  never  tired,  and  he  made  it  a  primary 
object  of  his  presidency  to  foster  zeal  in  the  hearts  of  others. 
His  rule  was  popular  with  the  students,  and  their  numbers  grew 
under  his  administration.  They  esteemed  and  loved  him, 
and  knew  that  he  really  felt  for  them  all  the  affection  of  a  father, 
and  that,  if  they  had  a  true  friend,  he  was  one. 

Father  Kenna  was  born  at  Brandon,  Mississippi,  on  Septem- 
ber 1 6th,  1844.  When  about  five  years  old,  he  crossed  the  plains 
with  his  parents,  arriving  in  California  in  1849.  He  received  a 
part  of  his  early  education  in  the  San  Francisco  High  School. 
He  was  then,  for  a  time,  secretary  to  Archbishop  Alemany. 
After  this,  he  spent  a  year  and  a  half  in  the  colleges  of  Ireland, 
a  year  at  St.  Coleman's  College,  Fermoy  County,  and  half  a  year 
with  the  Vincentian  Fathers  at  Castlenock.  Ill  health  com- 
pelled a  return  to  California.  In  1867,  ne  entered  Santa 
Clara  College,  as  student,  and  on  August  6th,  1868,  became  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  Some  three  years  later  we 
find  him  a  professor  in  his  Alma  Mater.  On  the  completion  of 
his  theology  in  1879,  he  was  ordained  priest,  and  a  year  later, 
as  we  have  seen,  became  president  of  St.  Ignatius.  Writing, 
as  we  are,  in  1905,  we  may  be  permitted  to  sketch  Father  Kenna's 
later  career: 

During  his  presidency  of  Santa  Clara  College  from  July 
26th,  1883,  to  December  27th,  1888,  he  renovated  the  old 
Mission  Church  and  erected  the  Students'  Memorial  Chapel. 
Transferred  to  St.  Ignatius,  he  became  vice-president  in  1890-91. 
Back  again  in  Santa  Clara  in  1891,  he  was  appointed  pas- 
tor of  the  congregation  for  a  year,  and  then  vice-president 
of  the  college  from  1893-97.  Two  years  of  pastorship  in 
San  Jose  followed,  when  he  was  once  more  made  president  of 
Santa  Clara.     Here  he  labored  until  relieved  of  office  on  July 


262  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

31st  of  the  present  year.  He  is  at  present  with  us  in  St.  Ignatius 
to  begin  the  second  half-century  of  its  trials  and  successes. 

But,  to  return  to  1883.  Other  changes  as  radical  as  this  of 
the  presidency  took  place  in  the  faculty.  Father  Csesar  A.  Barchi 
once  more  became  vice-president.  Fathers  Paul  Mans,  Joseph 
Dossola,  Aloysius  Raggio  and  Patrick  Kelly  were  transferred 
elsewhere.  Of  the  last-named  Father  an  incident  is  related 
which  will  show  how  he  could  reach  the  hearts  of  children. 

"In  1877,  he  was  back  again  in  St.  Ignatius  College,  San 
Francisco,"  says  the  narrator,  "where  he  divided  his  labors 
between  the  church  and  the  schoolroom.  In  1878,  the  chaplaincy 
of  the  Industrial  School  and  the  House  of  Correction  was 
assigned  to  him  in  addition.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with 
work  of  this  kind  in  such  institutions,  need  not  be  told  that  it 
is  as  uninviting  as  it  is  laborious.  A  curious  incident  occurred 
in  1880,  after  he  ceased  attending  there,  which  shows  how  thor- 
oughly he  had  won  the  affection  and  confidence  of  the  waifs 
and  strays  confined  in  the  Industrial  School.  The  superintend- 
ent, wishing  to  reward  them  for  their  extra  good  behavior,  sig- 
nified his  intention  of  granting  them  any  request  that  they 
should  make,  if  it  were  in  his  power  to  grant  it.  Much  to  his 
surprise,  the  young  rascals  simply  asked  him  to  get  them  back 
'the  little  Father'  who  used  to  attend  the  school."  The  "little 
Father"  was  Father  Kelly. 

Besides  the  Fathers  mentioned,  the  college  staff  lost  Messrs. 
Dionysius  Mahony,  Richard  Gleeson,  Vincent  Chiappa  and 
Jerome  Ricard,  receiving,  in  return,  Fathers  John  Pinasco  and 
Thomas  Leonard,  as  also  Messrs.  Felix  Weis,  Joseph  Mulligan, 
Joseph  Hickey  and  Ignatius  Schmitt.  Later  in  the  year,  Mr. 
George  P.  Butler,  S.  J.,  was  added  to  it. 

Matters  thus  harmoniously  arranged,  church  and  college 
resumed  their  wonted  course,  until,  on  October  7th,  the 
laying  of  the  cornerstone  of  the  beautiful  Dominican  Church, 
on  the  corner  of  Bush  and  Steiner  Streets,  permitted  again  a 
manifestation  of  the  mutual  affection  and  esteem  which  had 
united  the  Dominicans  and  Jesuits  in  California.  Rev.  Father 
Sasia,  the  president,  was  invited  to  preach  on  the  occasion,  and 
the  sanctuary  boys  were  invited  to  take  part  in  the  ceremony. 


FATHER  JOSEPH  SASIA,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        263 

Both  invitations  were  cordially  accepted.  Though  the  hour  was 
somewhat  late  when  the  ceremony  was  over,  Father  Sasia  held 
the  attention  of  the  vast  multitude  gathered  on  the  occasion ;  the 
sanctuary  boys  admirably  fulfilled  their  part;  and  thus,  in  the 
sanctity  of  Christian  fellowship,  another  noble  work  dedicated 
to  God's  glory,  and  of  which  our  city  may  well  be  proud,  was 
auspiciously  begun. 

About  a  month  later,  on  November  6th,  Archbishop  Patrick 
W.  Riordan,  D.  D.,  coadjutor  to  Archbishop  Alemany,  arrived 
in  San  Francisco,  and,  on  the  16th,  was  formally  received  by  the 
college.  His  kind  words  were  indeed  an  encouragement  to 
the  Fathers  to  go  on  zealously  in  the  good  work  in  which  they 
were  engaged,  for  his  words  were  not  only  those  of  a  sincere 
friend,  but  they  were  those  of  a  broad-minded  prelate,  who  knew 
the  needs  of  the  time  and  appreciated  the  difficulties.  His 
remarks,  too,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  students,  for  there 
was  no  mistaking  the  heart  that  spoke. 

"At  the  conclusion  of  the  entertainment,"  says  the  Monitor 
of  November  21st,  "His  Grace  delivered,  in  a  masterly  manner, 
a  brief  but  telling  address  to  the  students,  complimenting  them 
on  the  creditable  display  of  their  talents  and  literary  culture; 
thanking  them  for  the  sentiments  of  loyalty  towards  the  Catho- 
lic Church  and  her  representatives,  which  they  had  so  ably 
expressed;  and  exhorting  them  to  profit  by  the  golden  opportu- 
nities afforded  the  youth  of  San  Francisco  by  this  renowned 
institution  of  learning. 

Under  the  able  and  experienced  guidance  of  the  sons  of  St. 
Ignatius,  they  will  learn  how  to  associate  and  harmonize  knowl- 
edge with  virtue,  science  with  piety,  and  pursue  the  attainment 
of  temporal  goods  so  as  not  to  forget  that  an  eternal  fidelity  is 
due  the  Church  of  God.  Docility  and  obedience  to  those  zealous 
teachers  and  professors  will  be  for  them  the  surest  safeguard 
against  all  dangers,  the  bulwark  of  Christian  faith  and  virtue, 
and  the  strongest  defense  against  all  the  attacks  of  modern 
infidelity,  materialism  and  immorality,  which  poison  the  atmos- 
phere that  surrounds  us." 

A  few  days  later,  Bishop  Oseuf  of  Tokio,  Japan,  honored  us 
with  his  presence,  and  remained  our  guest  until  he  went  south- 


264  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

ward  about  the  middle  of  December.  The  year  ended  with  a 
Christmas  tree  for  the  Girls'  Sunday-school,  at  which  a  thousand 
children  were  present,  besides  fifteen  hundred  mothers  and  lady 
friends;  and  the  solemn  Benediction,  on  the  last  night  of  the 
year,  at  which  Archbishop  Riordan  officiated.  Each  was  a  mag- 
nificent spectacle  of  its  kind,  the  good  achieved  by  the  former, 
being  one  of  the  many  reasons  for  the  solemn  Te  Deum  preced- 
ing the  latter.  How  the  Sunday-school  had  prospered  under  the 
care  of  Father  Sasia  is  shown  by  the  numbers.  Miss  Lucas 
Harvey,  Miss  Harriet  Skidmore,  Miss  Kathleen  M.  Thompson, 
with  sixty-two  other  teachers,  were  his  zealous  co-workers. 

1884. 

On  March  9th,  1884,  Bishop  Healy,  with  Father  Blenkinshop 
of  Boston,  came  to  remain  with  us  for  about  two  weeks,  the 
Bishop  preaching  the  panegyric  of  St.  Joseph  at  high  mass  on 
the  Sunday  following  the  Saint's  feast.  A  large  congregation 
gathered  to  hear  him,  for  his  eloquence  on  former  occasions  was 
deeply  graven  on  their  memories.  In  the  beginning  of  May,  a 
pretty  ceremony,  which  of  late  years  had  been  introduced  by 
Father  Prelato,  took  place.  It  consisted  of  a  procession  of  the 
student  Sodalists,  with  banners  and  regalia,  to  the  statue  of  St. 
Joseph  in  the  Fathers'  garden.  Hymns  were  sung  and  an  address 
was  made.  This  year  the  address  was  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
O'Connell,  just  as  last  year  it  had  been  by  his  coadjutor,  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  Manogue,  to  the  great  profit  and  edification  of  their 
hearers. 

In  July,  Father  Caesar  A.  Barchi  was  replaced  as  vice- 
president  by  Father  Gregory  Leggio,  and,  in  other  offices, 
Father  John  Pinasco  and  Messrs.  Henry  Woods,  George  Butler, 
Joseph  Mulligan  and  Robert  Smith,  S.  J.,  were  replaced  by 
Father  Angelo  Coltelli  and  Messrs.  John  J.  Cunningham, 
Michael  A.  McKey,  Joseph  Landry  and  Henry  Raiders,  S.  J. 
Mr.  Raiders,  however,  remained  about  a  week  only  after  the 
opening  of  classes,  ill  health  necessitating  a  return  to  Santa  Clara. 

On  August  3rd,  the  day  on  which  the  Feast  of  St.  Ignatius 
was  solemnized,  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Riordan,  gave  another 
proof  of  his  friendship  by  pontificating;  and  similar  marks  of 
kindness  has  he  unceasingly  shown  during  the  many  years  that 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        265 

have  since  intervened,  whenever  pressing  duties  have  not  inter- 
fered or  wavering  health  forbade.  On  October  28th,  Bishop 
Manogue,  taking  Father  Varsi  with  him  as  his  theologian, 
set  out  for  the  Council  of  Baltimore.  His  choice  was  cer- 
tainly well  made,  for,  though  love  is  proverbially  blind,  it 
had  excellent  sight  in  the  present  case.  After  two  months  of 
absence,  Father  Varsi  was  restored  to  us  on  the  19th  of  the  fol- 
lowing December. 

As  this  was  the  tercentenary  year  of  the  establishment  of 
Sodalities  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  it  was  decided  to  celebrate,  with 
special  pomp,  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  under  the 
title  of  which  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  had  been  organized. 
Father  Joseph  Neri  was  again  director  of  the  Sodality,  and 
under  him,  as  under  his  able  predecessors,  the  membership  of 
the  body  had  been  constantly  growing.  Among  the  many  quali- 
ties that  fitted  Father  Neri  for  the  directing  of  societies,  that 
of  organization  was  doubtless  paramount.  To  him  the  Sanc- 
tuary Society  owed  its  traditions  of  excellence;  the  Philhistorian 
Debating  Society  had  felt  his  influence;  but  the  Sodality 
afforded  him  by  far  the  amplest  and  most  fruitful  field  for 
the  exercise  of  his  gifts.  Early  in  November,  the  Gentlemen's 
Chapel  had  become  too  cramped  for  the  accommodation  of 
increasing  numbers  and  had  been  widened.  Father  Neri  would 
enlarge  it  first,  that  he  might  beautify  it  afterwards;  but  the 
improvement  of  its  members,  even  more  so  than  that  of  their 
place  of  meeting,  was  the  object  of  his  care.  A  solemn  novena, 
preached  by  him  and  attended  by  the  Sodalists  in  a  body,  began 
on  the  28th  of  the  month.  It  was  an  imposing  sight,  as  it  ever 
is,  to  see  the  pews  on  both  sides  of  the  main  aisle  of  the  church 
filled  with  men.  Nor  was  old  age  alone  represented  among 
them;  youth  and  middle  age  asserted  themselves  in  preponder- 
ant numbers,  showing  that  manhood  could  give  of  its  best  to 
devotion  to  our  Blessed  Mother.  Sunday,  the  7th  of  December, 
was  appointed  as  the  day  of  general  communion,  since  many 
would  be  unable  to  attend  any  save  an  early  mass  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  the  day  proper  of  the  feast.  But  all  were  present  on 
the  evening  of  the  8th,  when,  to  the  great  edification  of  the 
crowds  that  knelt  around,  the  members  of  the  Sodality  renewed 


266  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

their  consecration  to  Mary's  cause.     An  entertainment  in  the 
college  hall,  three  days  later,  concluded  the  celebration. 

The  fraternal  ties,  which  had  ever  bound  in  closest  harmony 
the  colleges  of  Santa  Clara  and  of  St.  Ignatius,  were  drawn 
even  tighter  this  present  year,  when  Father  Kenna,  the  president 
of  the  former  institution,  permitted  his  pupils  to  give  a  drama 
in  St.  Ignatius  Hall  for  the  benefit  of  the  Ignatian  Society.  The 
young  participants  in  the  entertainment  played  their  parts 
admirably,  and,  as  the  attendance  was  all  that  could  be  desired, 
the  glory,  from  more  standpoints  than  one,  was  anything  but 
empty;  still,  alas!  the  receipts  were  only  a  drop  in  the  seem- 
ingly bottomless  abyss  of  debt.  With  all  the  Fathers'  economy 
and  self-sacrifice,  with  all  their  efforts  and  unceasing  labor,  the 
debt,  due  principally  to  accruing  interest,  had  grown  to  the 
enormous  sum  of  $1,008,511 ;  on  which,  in  eight  years,  the  inter- 
est alone  had  amounted  to  the  fabulous  sum  of  $285,264.  Such 
was  the  burden  that  the  children  of  St.  Ignatius  were  bear- 
ing for  the  cause  of  religion. 

1885. 

In  early  January,  1885,  Father  Mans  returned  to  reside  in 
St.  Ignatius,  but  he  went  monthly  to  San  Jose  to  attend  to  the 
spiritual  needs  of  the  Germans  there,  a  Mission  from  which  the 
present  St.  Mary's  Church  has  sprung,  with  its  flourishing  school 
and  congregation. 

Thirty-four  years  of  laborious  and  fruitful  episcopacy  had 
now  passed  for  the  venerable  incumbent  of  the  See  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  he  saw  the  spiritual  wilderness,  into  whose  soil  his 
careful  hands  had  dropped  the  seeds  of  the  higher  life,  already 
covered  with  the  ripening  harvest.  He  saw,  moreover,  at  his 
side,  a  valiant  husbandman  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  to  whose 
zealous  care  he  could,  with  all  assurance,  confide  it  to  be  defended 
and  garnered.  Surely  he  was  entitled  to  desire  and  ask  for 
rest.  On  the  28th  of  the  month,  the  announcement  was  made 
that  Rome  had  accepted  the  resignation  of  His  Grace,  Arch- 
bishop Alemany,  and  it  was  soon  known  that  he  would  return 
to  end  his  days  in  his  native  Catalonia.  On  the  19th  of  May, 
Father  Sasia,  in  company  with  Fathers  Kenna  and  Congiato, 
waited  on  him  to  wish  him  Godspeed,  and,  five  days  later,  he 


MOST  REV.  PATRICK  W.  RIORDAN,  D.D. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        267 

departed.  Whatever  differences  had  existed  between  him  and 
the  Fathers  had  long  since  been  healed — differences,  in  fact, 
which  were  rather  due  to  external  influences  which  had  been 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  pious  prelate,  than  to  anything  sponta- 
neous on  his  own  part.  An  ornament  to  his  noble  Order  and 
to  the  Archdiocese,  he  left  behind  him  no  sincerer  admirers  of 
his  many  virtues  than  the  Fathers  of  St.  Ignatius. 

The  Girls'  Sunday-school,  which,  for  some  years,  had  been 
held  in  the  college  hall,  was  transferred,  in  the  middle  of  Feb- 
ruary, to  the  church. 

About  the  same  time,  Father  Buchard  started  on  a  trip  to 
New  Orleans  and  places  connected  with  his  earlier  life.  The 
strain  of  missionary  labor  was,  as  we  have  said,  telling  on  his 
system,  and  nature  had  lost  the  elasticity  of  younger  years  which 
easily  had  restored  the  strength  spent  in  ceaseless  teaching  and 
instructing  in  mining  camp  and  mountain  village.  The  pleasure 
of  old  surroundings,  even  though  partly  changed ;  the  sight  of 
old  faces,  though  the  number  be  small ;  the  hearty  welcome  that 
assures  us  that  time  and  distance  have  not  obliterated  us  from 
the  hearts  that  once  have  loved  us,  cannot  but  prove  refreshing 
to  tired  nature.  Five  months  spent  in  the  Southern  and  Eastern 
and  Mid-western  States,  gave  back  to  us  Father  Buchard,  on 
the  17th  of  July,  improved  in  health  and  impatient  for  work. 

Meanwhile  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Riordan,  had  granted  a 
permission  greatly  desired  by  the  Fathers,  and  which  has  con- 
tributed so  much  to  foster  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart — the 
permission,  namely,  to  have  the  exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment every  first  Friday.  It  was  had,  for  the  first  time,  on  May 
Day,  and  has  continued  without  interruption  ever  since. 

Changes,  this  year,  in  the  college  staff  were  numerous,  espe- 
cially among  those  who  were  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
and  who  had  not  yet  arrived  at  the  priesthood.  Messrs.  John 
Cunningham,  Felix  Weis,  Thomas  Boland,  Joseph  Hickey, 
Joseph  Landry,  William  Culligan  and  Joseph  Riordan  were 
destined  for  Santa  Clara,  some  to  teach,  and  some  to  employ 
their  time  in  study.  Father  Charles  Pollano  accompanied 
them.  Mr.  John  Nestor  was  sent  to  San  Jose ;  and,  later,  Messrs. 
Edward  Allen,  Theodore  Rinck  and  Michael  McKey  departed 
for  Woodstock,  Maryland.     In  their  place,  we  find  Father  Sulli- 


268  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

van  again  teaching,  as  also  Father  Vincent  Reitmayr,  Messrs. 
Dionysius  Mahony,  Henry  Woods,  William  Harty,  Patrick 
Foote  and  William  Barry. 

As  a  mark  of  special  favor  to  St.  Ignatius,  His  Grace,  the 
Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  was  anxious  that  the  Fathers 
should  once  more  have  a  parish.  The  matter  was  referred  for 
decision  to  the  higher  Superiors  of  the  Order.  While  sincerely 
appreciating  the  generosity  and  kindly  feelings  of  His  Grace, 
Very  Rev.  Father  Anderledv,  General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
answered,  that,  as  it  was  his  desire  to  have  the  Jesuit  Churches 
as  much  as  possible  free  from  the  burden  of  parish  duties,  and 
that,  as  he  had  lately  refused  three  parishes  in  Australia,  he 
thought  it  would  be  better  to  decline  the  offer.  The  letter  of 
the  Very  Rev.  Father  General  arrived  about  the  middle  of 
September. 

Christmas  came,  bringing  with  it  Christmas  trees  for  the 
Sunday-schools,  and  the  usual  distribution  of  provisions  to  the 
poor :  but  it  brought  also  its  complement  of  work  for  the  mem- 
bers of  the  college.  A  sample  of  the  help  offered  by  St.  Ignatius 
to  the  institutions  of  the  archdiocese  is  furnished  us  by  the  diary 
of  the  college  Minister : 

"Dec.  25th,  Xmas.  Father  Neri  said  midnight  mass  at 
the  convent  in  Oakland;  Father  Mans  in  San  Jose;  Father 
Leonard  at  the  Presidio;  Father  Barchi  at  Mt.  St.  Joseph; 
Father  Prelato  at  St.  Vincent's  School;  Father  Leggio  at  the 
Sisters  at  Mission  Dolores;  Father  Raffo  at  the  Sisters  on 
Hayes  Street;  Father  Tadini  at  the  Presentation  Convent; 
Fathers  Prelato  and  Reitmayr  went  to  be  Deacons  of  Honor 
at  the  Cathedral;  Mr.  Harty,  Subdeacon  at  the  German 
Church;  Father  Galliano  said  mass  at  the  Industrial  School." 
Thus  was  Christmas  made  bright  in  many  an  institution  by 
the  sacrifices  of  the  Fathers,  for  this  scattering  of  the  com- 
munity robs  Christmas  of  the  family  nature  of  the  feast;  and 
doubtless,  as  yearly  happens,  some  requests  had  to  be  refused, 
not  from  lack  of  good  will,  but  from  lack  of  available  men;  for 
confessions  had  to  be  heard,  and  masses  said,  and  communion 
distributed  to  thousands,  in  St.  Ignatius  itself. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH   AND    COLLEGE        269 

1886. 

The  year  1886  opened  quietly,  every  department  of  the 
church  and  college  active,  but  with  an  activity  that  exercised 
itself  in  the  ordinary  channels.  On  Septuagesima  Sunday, 
however,  March  7th,  the  devotion  of  the  Forty  Hours  was  in- 
augurated in  the  church  with  much  splendor.  Large  congrega- 
tions attended  the  various  masses,  and  larger  ones  gathered 
for  the  evening  services,  while,  all  day  long,  the  sacred  edifice 
was  never  without  its  scores  of  devout  worshipers. 

Six  years  and  more  had  now  passed  since  the  new  church 
had  been  dedicated  and  the  college  blessed,  and  excellent  had 
been  the  work  for  the  divine  glory  that  both  had  performed. 
Days  of  success  there  had  been  and  days  of  joy,  but  behind  all 
and  overshadowing  all,  was  the  ever-present  specter  of  a 
gigantic  debt  which  would  not  down,  because,  every  increasing, 
it  could  not.  What  a  load  was  therefore  lifted  from  the  hearts 
of  Father  Varsi  and  the  community  of  St.  Ignatius,  when  on 
May  7th,  Mrs.  Abbie  Parrott,  bought  the  old  property  on 
Market  Street  for  $900,000,  a  good  business  investment,  it  is 
true,  but  none  the  less  a  sincere  act  of  kindness  to  the  Fathers! 
Others  could  have  made  the  same  investment  and  did  not.  The 
purchase  was  intended  as  an  act  of  friendship,  and  as  such  it  is 
gratefully  recorded.  The  deeds  were  made  out  on  the  14th  of 
the  month;  the  sand  wastes  of  '55,  now  in  the  heart  of  a  thriv- 
ing city,  had  increased  in  value  nearly  fifty  fold  and  were 
canceling  the  greater  part  of  the  obligations  contracted  for 
the  new  site  and  for  all  the  buildings,  both  new  and  old,  a 
glorious  tribute  to  the  foresight  of  Father  Maraschi.  Nine 
days  later,  the  announcement  was  made  that  the  Ignatian 
Society  was  dissolved;  for  the  hope  was  entertained  that,  by 
strict  economy,  the  rest  of  what  was  owed  would  be  paid  off 
little  by  little.  If  help  had  been  requested,  it  was  only  the 
direst  necessity  that  had  extorted  the  petition. 

A  month  later,  June  24th,  Jeremiah  F.  Collins,  S.  J.,  an 
old  student  of  St.  Ignatius,  had  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
priest  ordained  in  the  new  church.  It  would  have  been  impos- 
sible to  select  a  more  appropriate  day  for  the  ceremony,  since 
it  was  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi.     The  ceremony  was  per- 


270  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

formed  by  his  Grace,  Archbishop  Riordan.  We  quote  from 
an  account  written  at  the  time: 

"The  first  ordination  at  the  splendid  church  of  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  on  Hayes  Street,  took  place  yesterday  morning  when 
Jeremiah  Francis  Collins,  S.  J.,  after  sixteen  years  of  prepara- 
tory labors,  was  consecrated  to  the  eternal  priesthood  by 
Archbishop  Riordan,  before  a  vast  concourse  of  people  that 
crowded  nearly  all  of  the  available  space  in  the  immense  edifice. 
The  ceremony  began  with  the  presentation  of  the  candidate 
to  the  Archbishop  whose  faldstool  of  carved  and  gilded  wood 
upholstered  with  white  satin,  had  been  placed  upon  the 
elevation  in  front  of  the  altar.  ...  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  beautiful  ceremony  the  mother,  sisters  and  near  rela- 
tives of  Father  Collins,  approached  the  altar  railing  and 
received  his  blessing. 

The  personal  friends  of  the  newly  ordained  priest,  many 
of  whom  had  come  from  adjoining  counties  to  witness  the 
ordination,  next  came  forward  to  obtain  a  benediction  from 
his  consecrated  hands,  and  so  did  the  people  assembled  in  the 
church  to  the  number  of  about  three  thousand." 

The  college  exhibitions  had  passed  off  quite  creditably  to 
Fathers  and  pupils  in  the  early  part  of  the  month,  and  eight 
candidates  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  degrees.  Charles  B. 
Lastretto  received  that  of  Master  of  Arts;  Andrew  Carrigan 
and  Clarence  McKinstry  that  of  Bachelor  of  Arts;  Eugene 
McFadden  those  of  Bachelor  and  Master  of  Science;  Joseph 
Stapleton,  Andrew  G.  Maguire  and  Ernest  Hartmann,  that 
of  Bachelor  of  Science.  The  number  of  pupils  in  the  college 
was  838,  the  highest  number  ever  reached. 

In  August,  Father  Gregory  Leggio  left  for  Albuquerque,  New 
Mexico,  his  place,  as  Vice-President,  being  supplied  by  Father 
Joseph  Dossola.  Father  Joseph  Isolabella  exchanged  places  with 
Father  Henry  Imoda,  who  had  been  Minister  in  Santa  Clara. 
To  Santa  Clara  went  also  Father  Telesphorus  Demasini  and 
Mr.  Patrick  Foote;  to  Woodstock,  Mr.  Dionysius  Mahony.  In 
July,  Mr.  Felix  Weis  joined  the  faculty;  in  August,  Mr.  Thomas 
Boland ;  and  a  little  over  a  month  later,  Father  Philibert  Tornielli. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         271 

In  response  to  the  Fathers'  invitation,  His  Grace,  the  Most 
Reverend  Archbishop,  consented  to  deliver  the  panegyric  of 
St.  Ignatius  on  the  solemn  celebration  of  the  feast.  The  occa- 
sion, the  theme,  the  personality  of  the  Archbishop,  his  known 
eloquence,  all  contributed  to  pack  the  pews,  and  aisles,  and 
vestibule,  with  an  attentive  audience.  Beauty  of  figure  lent 
added  grace  to  solid  thought,  and  the  commanding  presence  and 
the  big  heart  of  the  pastor  speaking  to  his  flock,  contributed, 
each  in  its  own  way,  to  interest  and  to  charm. 

"The  splendid  altars  of  St.  Ignatius  Church,"  says  an  account, 
"never  shone  more  brilliantly  than  they  did  on  Sunday  last, 
when  the  large  number  of  lights  were  reflected  from  the  massive 
gilt  candelabra  which  adorned  them.  At  10:30  o'clock,  Solemn 
High  Mass  commenced  with  the  entrance  of  the  cross-bearer 
and  assistants,  followed  by  eighteen  acolytes,  a  large  number 
of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  and  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Riordan,  and 
his  attendant  priests. 

The  several  offices  of  the  mass  were  filled  by  the  following 
Reverend  clergy :  Very  Rev.  Joseph  Sasia,  S.  J.,  was  celebrant, 
the  deacon  being  Rev.  F.  Prelato,  S.  J.;  and  the  subdeacon, 
Rev.  J.  F.  Collins,  S.  J.  In  attendance  upon  the  Archbishop 
were  Rev.  A.  Varsi,  S.  J.,  assistant  priest,  and  Revs.  A.  Maras- 
chi,  S.  J.,  and  V.  Reitmayr,  S.  J.,  deacons  of  honor. 

After  the  first  gospel,  Archbishop  Riordan  preached  a 
splendid  sermon  on  the  life,  labors  and  example  left  us  of 
fidelity  in  God's  service,  by  the  great  Ignatius  of  Loyola.  He 
traced  the  history  of  the  church  through  her  various  struggles 
with  Arianism,  Nestorianism  and  Pelagianism,  and  her  victories 
over  them  through  the  power  and  mercy  of  God  in  raising 
up — in  each  period  of  danger — men  of  mighty  intellect  and 
influence,  through  assistance  from  on  high — in  order  to  defeat 
the  machinations  of  evil-disposed  men  who  sought  to  sow 
dissensions  in  the  Christian  world.  In  the  same  manner,  when 
the  principles  of  Luther  poisoned  the  minds  of  men  against 
God's  holy  Church,  and  made  them  falter  in  their  allegiance 
to  her,  Christ's  visible  representative  on  earth  sent  his  ambas- 
sadors to  combat  error,  even  as  he  had  sent  St.  Athanasius, 
St.  Cyril  and  St.  Augustine  in  the  earlier  ages  of  the  Church's 
struggle  for  the  supremacy  of  God's  truth. 


272  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

The  Archbishop  then  traced  the  life  of  St.  Ignatius,  showing 
in  a  very  clear  light,  how  each  phase  of  it — whether  that  of 
soldier,  pilgrim  or  priest — -had  led  him  closer  and  closer  to  God, 
until  at  length  he  had  changed  himself  from  a  careless  Catholic 
into  one  of  the  sublimest  characters  presented  for  Catholic 
contemplation. 

His  Grace  then  paid  a  beautiful  tribute  to  the  grand  mis- 
sionary triumphs  achieved  by  the  Society  of  Jesus  through  their 
labors  in  carrying  the  Cross  of  Christ  into  lands  where,  neither 
the  avarice  of  man,  nor  the  enterprising  spirit  of  the  age,  had 
led  adventurers  to  visit.  And  in  what  way  had  the  world 
repaid  the  Jesuit  missionaries  for  thus  opening  up  newly  dis- 
covered nations  for  the  world's  benefit?  The  Order  had  been 
hated,  even  as  men  hated  that  God  whom  St.  Ignatius  loved 
so  dearly.  Yet  this  very  hatred  of  the  world  is  one  of  the 
distinguishing  marks  of  the  faithful  children  of  Christ.  To 
be  of  God  and  to  have  God's  love  in  his  soul,  was  the  life-long 
ambition  of  St.  Ignatius;  and  that  he  might  arrive  at  this  high 
order  of  perfection,  he  suffered  sickness,  temptation,  poverty, 
hunger  and  thirst.  But  he  triumphed  in  the  end,  and  gave 
to  the  world  a  society  of  men  whose  works  for  God's  greater 
honor  and  glory  were  a  far  grander  eulogy  than  the  lips  of 
man  could  pronounce.  No  one  was  in  a  better  position  to 
realize  the  great  good  which  the  Jesuit  Fathers  accomplished 
for  religion  than  His  Grace,  and  no  one  appreciated  that  bene- 
ficent influence  more  highly.  In  their  schools  and  colleges, 
in  their  ministrations  among  the  people,  they  were  helping 
to  keep  alive  the  lamp  of  Christian  literature  in  the  world,  and 
they  were  leading  souls  on  the  path  which  St.  Ignatius  followed 
in  his  journey  toward  God.  May  the  blessings  which  their 
great  founder  asked  at  the  hands  of  his  Creator,  descend  upon 
his  sons  to-day  and  throughout  all  time  to  come,  so  that,  like 
him,  they  may  point  out  to  millions  of  souls  the  way  to 
Christian  perfection,  and  then  receive  the  crown  of  everlasting 
glory  promised  by  Almighty  God  to  all  who  labor  faithfully 
in  His  vineyard." 

Some  three  months  later,  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  cele- 
brated   the    Silver   Jubilee    of   its    institution.      The    religious 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         273 

celebration  was  held  on  Sunday,  November  7th.  In  the 
morning,  Father  Buchard,  the  Sodality's  founder  and  first 
director,  addressed  the  members  on  "Societies  Catholic,  non- 
Catholic  and  anti-Catholic."  Many  Sodalists  were  present  who, 
in  1 86 1,  had  laid  the  foundations  of  the  organization  broad  and 
deep  on  which  successive  generations  had  successfully  built; 
and  as  old  memories  came  back,  stirred  into  life  by  the  familiar 
tones  of  the  speaker's  voice,  their  hearts  reached  out  to  the 
old  wooden  church  of  1855  in  which  they  had  first  met,  and 
the  brick  basement,  the  school  of  Father  Villiger,  which  had 
later  been  their  home.  In  the  afternoon,  a  procession  was 
held  for  the  gaining  of  the  indulgence  of  the  Jubilee  which,  at 
that  time,  had  been  promulgated.  With  quiet  and  modest 
demeanor,  the  Sunday-school  children  and  Sodalists  wound 
their  way  around  the  block  enclosing  the  college  buildings,  and, 
re-entering  the  church,  listened  to  the  glowing  words  in  which 
Father  Sasia  set  forth  the  Church's  doctrine  on  "Devotion  to 
the  Mother  of  God."  Benediction  with  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
followed,  and  the  Sodalists  dispersed.  On  the  following 
Thursday,  appropriate  literary  exercises  were  held  in  the 
college  hall,  at  which  a  masterly  address  was  made  by  Mr. 
James  R.  Kelly,  the  prefect,  on  the  Silver  Jubilee. 

"Two  years  ago,"  he  said,  "the  members  had  met  together 
to  commemorate  the  third  centenary  of  the  establishment  of 
Sodalities  which,  since  their  birth  in  the  Church,  had  spread 
with  great  rapidity  among  the  Catholics  of  both  continents, 
but  most  especially  wherever  the  Jesuits  had  reared  their  tem- 
ples to  God.  Once  more  the  members  had  met,  this  time  to 
celebrate  the  Silver  Jubilee  of  their  own  branch  which,  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  had  flourished  so  successfully  at  St. 
Ignatius  under  the  zealous  care  of  the  followers  of  Loyola. 
He  strikingly  contrasted  the  instability  of  temporal  institutions 
with  the  eternal  institutions  of  the  Church.  Unlike  the  king- 
doms and  empires  of  this  world,  they  increase,  not  decay  with 
the  march  of  centuries.  Among  the  organizations  called  into 
existence  by  the  Church  for  the  benefit  of  her  laity,  there  are 
few  stronger  or  more  noble  in  their  objects  than  the  Sodality 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.     It  is  the  means  of  causing  thou- 


274 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


sands  to  approach  the  altar  every  month,  under  the  banners 
of  Mary,  to  partake  of  the  bread  of  life.  Hundreds  who  but 
for  it  would,  by  their  temporal  cares,  be  distracted  from  their 
spiritual  duties,  are  maintained  by  it  in  the  holy  recollection 
of  the  end  for  which  they  were  placed  on  earth.  The  branch 
at  St.  Ignatius  Church  numbers  from  its  establishment  up  to 
the  present  time  1,600  persons  on  the  roll  of  membership.  In 
conclusion,  the  speaker  desired  that  all  those  who  were  not  as 
yet  Sodalists  would  enlist  themselves  as  such,  for  it  is  impos- 
sible, he  said,  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  a  Jesuit  and  not  become  purer 
and  more  fervent  in  life." 

His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  with  a  large  number  of  the 
clergy,  was  present,  and  his  entrance  into  the  hall  was  the 
signal  for  long  and  loud  applause. 

That  he  might  take  part  in  a  celebration  that  brought  so 
much  consolation  to  his  heart,  Father  Buchard  had  returned 
to  St.  Ignatius  about  two  weeks  previously. 

"Rev.  Father  Buchard,  S.  J.,  the  veteran  missionary,"  writes 
a  friend,  "has  returned  from  his  five  months'  missionary  tour 
through  the  Northwest,  embracing  all  the  Catholic  settlements 
in  Montana,  also  portions  of  Washington  Territory  and  Ore- 
gon. After  twenty-five  years'  successful  missionary  labor  on 
this  Coast,  it  is  probable  that  Father  Buchard  will  be  called 
East  to  enjoy  that  rest  which  his  long  and  arduous  labors 
deserve  and  which  his  declining  health  requires. 

It  is  a  pity  that  such  an  ardent  apostle  of  the  true  faith 
should  ever  wear  out  in  physical  endurance  whilst  carrying 
the  glorious  tidings  of  salvation  to  those  outside  the  Church, 
and  renewing  the  faith  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  were  once 
baptized  in  the  saving  waters  of  baptism. 

But  though  Father  Buchard  may  personally  fade  from  the 
sight  of  his  legions  of  admirers  and  well-wishers,  his  memory 
will  live  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  have  ever  had  the  happiness  of 
hearing  him  preach  Christ  crucified;  and  the  recollection  of  his 
numerous  missionary  crusades  in  the  cause  of  the  Cross,  will 
forever  enshrine  his  cherished  name  in  the  archives  of  the 
Church  on  the  Pacific  Coast." 


GENTLEMEN'S  SODALITY 
SACRED  HEART  ALTAR  LIBRARY 


ST.  JOSEPH'S  ALTAR 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         275 

1887. 

On  March  4th,  though  the  news  reached  us  on  the  following 
day,  Very  Rev.  Father  Peter  Beckx,  General  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  ended,  by  a  peaceful  death,  his  long  and  eventful  life  of 
ninety-two  years.  It  was  he  who  had  formally  given  existence 
to  the  Californian  Mission,  and  had  sanctioned  the  erection 
of  the  College  of  St.  Ignatius ;  it  was  he  who,  by  his  wise  coun- 
sels, had  guided  it  through  its  difficulties  and  perils,  and  by  his 
words  of  encouragement  had  nerved  it  to  bear  up  bravely  when 
beset  by  trials ;  no  wonder  that  it  thought  that,  do  what  it  could  to 
honor  the  memory  of  him  who  had  been  a  true  parent  to  it,  all 
would  still  be  far  from  what  such  loving  care  deserved.  On 
the  23rd  of  the  month,  therefore,  solemn  funeral  services  were 
held.  At  9 130  a.  m.  the  Office  of  the  Dead  was  recited,  and  at 
10:30  a  Solemn  Requiem  Mass  was  sung,  at  which  His  Grace, 
the  Archbishop,  assisted. 

"An  unusually  large  congregation  assembled  in  St.  Ignatius 
Church  on  last  Wednesday  morning,"  says  a  contemporary, 
"the  occasion  being  the  celebration  of  a  Solemn  Requiem  Mass 
for  the  lately-deceased  and  saintly  General  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus — Very  Rev.  Peter  J.  Beckx.  The  church  was  magnifi- 
cently decorated  for  the  solemn  occasion.  The  High  Altar 
was  draped  with  mourning  emblems,  divided  into  panels  by 
tassels  and  rosettes;  and  the  immense  altar  piece  was  covered 
by  a  black  cloth  on  which  a  large  white  cross  appeared  in 
imposing  relief.  The  massive  black  catafalque  occupied  the 
space  usually  taken  up  by  fourteen  pews  which  had  to  be  re- 
moved to  make  place  for  it.  It  was  elaborately  decorated  with 
glittering  silver  crosses,  and,  at  its  summit,  was  a  casket  covered 
with  a  rich  pall  of  black  velvet,  appropriately  trimmed  with  a 
border  of  deep  silver  fringe.  A  hundred  waxen  candles  fixed 
in  gilded  candlesticks  shed  a  steady  halo  of  light  around  the  cata- 
falque, and  altogether  the  scene  was  one  of  the  greatest  sol- 
emnity, well  calculated  to  vividly  impress  the  congregation 
with  the  common  end  of  man,  and  the  fruitlessness  of  earthly 
toil  which  is  not  spent  to  merit  heaven. 

At  9:30  a.  m.  the  services  were  begun  by  an  impressive 
recitation  of  the  Office  for  the  Dead,  and  an  hour  later,  the 


276  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

Solemn  Mass  of  Requiem  commenced,  at  which  Very  Rev. 
Joseph  Sasia,  S.  J.,  president  of  St.  Ignatius  College,  was  cele- 
brant. .  .  .  The  acolytes  of  the  Blessed  John  Berchman's 
Sodality  and  the  officers  of  the  Young  Men's  Sodality  assisted 
at  the  services.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  mass,  the  clergy 
surrounded  the  catafalque,  and  in  slow  and  solemn  voice 
the  Libera  was  chanted,  after  which  His  Grace,  the  Most  Rev- 
erend Archbishop,  gave  the  final  absolution  and  the  impressive 
ceremonies  were  over." 

On  March  20th,  His  Grace  gave  another  mark  of  favor  to 
St.  Ignatius  by  celebrating  mass  for  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality 
and  addressing  the  members.  He  expressed  his  pleasure  at 
seeing  such  a  body  of  men  united  in  so  worthy  a  cause;  indi- 
cated the  benefits  that  flowed  to  themselves,  the  Church  and 
civil  society  from  organizations  such  as  theirs;  and  concluded 
by  drawing  for  their  instruction  practical  lessons  from  the  life 
of  St.  Joseph,  whose  feast  had  occurred  the  preceding  day. 

Lent  was  already  far  advanced  and  Holy  Week  was  ap- 
proaching, during  which  on  Good  Friday,  this  year,  the  touch- 
ing devotion  of  the  Three  Hours'  Agony  was  introduced.  The 
vast  concourse  that  gathered,  many  of  whom  had  to  stand  the 
whole  of  these  three  hours,  a  concourse  that  on  similar  occa- 
sions has  never  decreased,  showed  evidently  how  the  sorrows 
of  the  God-man  never  fail  to  move  the  human  heart;  and  heard 
over  and  over  again,  ever  reveal  a  new  beauty. 

At  the  exhibition,  nine  academic  degrees  were  conferred, 
four  graduates  receiving  that  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  five  that 
of  Bachelor  of  Science.  The  college  catalogue  contains  the 
following  notice:  "Henceforth  academical  degrees  will  be  con- 
ferred in  this  college  on  such  students  only  as  have  attended  the 
classical  course,  and  passed,  at  its  close,  a  successful  examina- 
tion in  Latin  and  Greek.  This  regulation  will  be  enforced  from 
this  date  (June  1st,  1887)  with  all  students  that  will  hereafter 
enter  the  Literary  Department  with  a  view  to  graduation.  To 
become  a  candidate  for  graduation,  the  student  must  have  an 
average  of  70  per  cent  in  each  of  the  several  studies  required 
for  the  degree  to  which  he  aspires."  The  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Science,  except  for  those  already  in  course,  was,  therefore, 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         277 

a  thing  of  the  past,  with  a  consequent  limiting  of  pupils;  for 
not  all  who  are  desirous  of  an  academic  degree,  have  the  time, 
or  ability,  or  inclination  to  take  a  classical  one. 

On  June  8th,  Father  Joseph  Sasia  was  succeeded  by  Father 
Henry  Imoda  as  president  of  the  college. 

Father  Anthony  Tardella  was  selected  as  Minister,  and 
Father  Vincent  Chiappa  as  vice-president;  Messrs.  Henry 
Raiders,  Wm,  Culligan  and  John  Ford,  S.  J.,  came  from  Santa 
Clara  to  assume  charge  of  classes.  Fathers  Angelo  Coltelli, 
Joseph  Dossola,  Philibert  Tornielli,  with  Messrs.  Henry  Woods 
and  Felix  Weis  were  transferred  to  other  places. 

Mr.  Thomas  Boland,  on  June  12th,  by  an  unexpected  death 
at  the  Fathers'  Villa  near  Santa  Clara,  closed  all  too  soon  a  pious 
and  useful  life.  Father  Reitmayr  remained  a  member  of  the 
faculty  until  the  February  of  the  following  year,  when,  having 
already  during  some  months  suffered  from  hemorrhages,  he 
went  to  Santa  Clara,  where,  a  little  over  a  year  later,  he  passed 
to  his  eternal  reward. 

The  year,  especially  in  its  second  half,  was  remarkable  for 
the  number  of  Church  dignitaries  that  afforded  us  the  pleasure 
of  welcoming  them.  I  shall  not  mention  Bishop  Manogue, 
for  he  was  as  much  at  home  in  St.  Ignatius  as  in  his  own  resi- 
dence. In  June,  Bishop  Macheboeuf  of  Denver  paid  us  a  visit; 
in  July,  just  after  his  consecration,  Bishop  Scanlan  of  Salt 
Lake;  on  October  1st,  Archbishop  Casanova,  the  exiled  arch- 
bishop of  Guatemala;  on  October  17th,  His  Eminence,  Cardi- 
nal Gibbons,  in  company  with  Their  Graces,  Archbishop  Rior- 
dan,  of  the  diocese,  and  Gross,  of  Oregon.  The  last  three  were 
entertained  by  the  students  in  the  college  hall,  and  they  appre- 
ciated much  the  literary  efforts  of  the  speakers.  At  the  end, 
the  Cardinal,  in  turn,  made  an  address  replete  with  wise  les- 
sons for  the  young,  and  crowned  all,  in  student  eyes,  by  grant- 
ing three  holidays,  one  for  each  of  the  dignitaries  present. 

"His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Gibbons,  was  tendered  an  enthu- 
siastic reception  by  the  students  of  St.  Ignatius  College  on 
last  Monday  morning,"  says  an  account  published  soon  after- 
wards. "The  spacious  college  hall  was  fragrant  with  flowers, 
aromatic  plants  and  evergreens.     Fronting  the  stage,  a  raised 


278  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

velvet  easy  chair  was  reserved  for  His  Eminence.  At  the  ap- 
pointed time,  the  600  students  filed  into  the  hall.  His 
Eminence  entered  a  moment  later  attended  by  his  secretary, 
Dr.  Chapelle,  Archbishops  Gross  and  Riordan,  the  resident 
Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  General  Morgan  of  the  Pre- 
sidio, and  Dr.  James  Sharkey.  His  entrance  was  the  signal 
for  an  enthusiastic  outburst  of  applause  which  lasted  for  some 
time. 

After  the  Cardinal  had  been  presented  with  a  beautiful  silk 
and  gold  souvenir  programme,  the  exercises  were  proceeded 
with  in  the  following  order:  Overture,  'Semiramide,'  college 
orchestra;  'Floral  Offering,'  J.  Emery;  essay,  The  Cardinalate,' 
E.  Shortall;  poem,  F.  Haynes;  music,  'Rigoletto  Fantasie,'  col- 
lege orchestra;  recitation,  'The  Nun  of  Nidaros,'  F.  Burke; 
Greek  ode,  J.  Gleason;  Gratulatio  (Latin  composition),  T. 
Pawlicki;  'Barber  of  Seville,'  college  orchestra;  recitation, 
'Henry  V  and  the  Hermit  of  Dreux,'  E.  Comyns;  A  Word 
of  Greeting  (German),  F.  Jung;  Welcome  (Spanish),  C.  Berna; 
The  Guest  Whom  We  Love  and  Revere,  L.  Bartlett;  music, 
college  orchestra. 

The  addresses  by  the  students  all  breathed  a  spirit  of  deep 
welcome  to  the  honored  guest,  and  were  meritorious  and  ap- 
propriate. When  the  exercises  were  concluded,  His  Eminence 
ascended  the  stage  and  addressed  the   students. 

He  expressed  his  pleasure  at  the  beautiful  reception  ac- 
corded him.  He  had  heard  much  of  St.  Ignatius  College,  but 
the  realization  surpassed  the  anticipation,  strong  as  it  had  been. 
The  beautiful  aroma  of  the  flowers  was  pleasing,  but  the  sight 
of  so  many  virtuous  young  men  assembled  to  do  him  reverence, 
was  more  attractive  to  his  spiritual  sense  than  the  flowers  were 
to  the  grosser  sense  of  smell.  His  Eminence  stated  that  he 
did  not  feel  like  a  stranger  in  the  institution.  It  had  been  his 
honor  and  privilege  to  personally  confer  holy  Orders  on  several 
of  the  reverend  professors  who  not  only  cultivated  virtues  of 
the  mind  but  of  the  heart  also.  Enemies  of  the  Church  persist 
in  saying  that  science  and  religion  cannot  go  together.  This 
assertion  was  essentially  wrong,  because  science  and  religion 
emanate   from   the   same   Father,   and   are   twin   sisters.      His 


HIS  EMINENCE,  CARDINAL  GIBBONS 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


279 


Eminence  then  compared  science  and  religion  to  Mary  and 
Martha  of  the  Bible;  and  observed  that  revelation  and  religion 
would  live  to  see  the  downfall  of  the  many  erroneous  modern 
scientific  theories  of  Huxley,  Darwin  and  others  of  their  ilk. 
But,  in  the  meanwhile,  the  Church  requires  men  of  enlightened 
minds  and  undaunted  hearts  to  defend  her  and  refute  religious 
and  scientific  errorists.  His  Eminence  concluded  his  eloquent 
address  by  pointedly  urging  that  the  students  should  ever  be 
ready  to  defend  truth  and  their  religion;  and  that,  next  to 
loving  God,  they  should  unswervingly  be  loyal  to  the  country 
whose  tolerant  flag  waves  over  them.  His  Eminence  then 
announced  that,  at  his  request,  the  students  had  been  granted  a 
three  days'  vacation.  A  Solemn  Blessing  was  then  pronounced, 
and,  amidst  the  enthusiastic  applause  of  the  delighted  students, 
His  Eminence  and  suite  filed  out  of  the  hall.  The  reception  was 
in  every  way  successful,  and  reflects  much  credit  upon  the 
talented  students  and  the  Fathers  of  the  college." 

So  the  year  passed  on  quietly  to  its  close  and  was  numbered 
with  the  many  fruitful  ones  that  had  gone  before. 


i< 

The  happenings  of  1888  will  not  detain  us  long,  for  even 
more  so  than  those  of  most  other  years,  they  keep  themselves 
within  the  routine  of  ordinary  life.  Yet  some  events  there  are 
that  must  not  be  passed  over  in  silence.  On  March  nth,  St. 
Ignatius  added  still  to  its  list  another  of  those  good  works  less 
showy  but  solid — attendance,  namely,  on  the  military  garrison 
at  Angel  Island.  Father  Mans  was  again  chosen  to  start  the 
enterprise,  and  he  set  about  it  with  his  usual  zeal  and  self-sacri- 
fice. The  work  which  he  established,  though  interrupted  for  a 
time,  has  gone  on  steadily  since  re-established  by  Father  Henry 
Woods  some  eight  years  ago;  and  on  the  first  Sunday  of  every 
month  a  Father  gives  the  soldiers  an  opportunity  of  complying 
with  their  religious  duties.  Doubtless  more  would  have  been 
done,  had  there  been  the  opportunity  for  doing  it;  but  as  the 
trip  had  to  be  made  on  Saturday,  and  the  Government  tug 
permitted  return  to  the  city  only  on  the  first  Sunday  of  the 
month,  nothing  more  was  feasible,  under  the  circumstances. 


28o  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

On  the  9th  of  April,  Rev.  Father  Imoda  departed  for 
Helena,  Montana,  on  a  matter  of  business,  and  appointed  Rev. 
Joseph  Sasia  to  direct  affairs  during  his  absence.  His  stay, 
however,  was  short,  and  on  the  19th,  he  was  again  at  his  post. 

On  the  14th  of  May,  a  Solemn  Requiem  Mass  was  offered 
in  the  church  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  Archbishop  Alemany 
who  had  passed  to  his  reward  at  a  ripe  old  age.  His  dear  friend 
and  companion,  Father  Sadoc  Villarasa,  O.  P.,  had  already 
entered  into  eternal  life,  his  body  having  been  laid  to  rest  in 
Benicia,  among  those  of  his  brethren,  on  March  19th,  preceding. 

On  July  10th,  Father  Nicholas  Congiato,  who,  during  his 
period  of  office  had  resided  in  San  Jose,  was  replaced  as 
Superior  of  the  Californian  Mission,  by  Father  Joseph  Sasia. 

In  his  retirement  from  office,  Father  Congiato's  immediate 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  the  Mission  ceased,  a  Mission  of  which 
he  had  been  the  first  Superior,  and  in  the  shaping  of  whose 
destinies  he  had  had  so  great  a  part.  He  was  a  man  indeed  of 
rare  prudence;  of  tender  feelings,  though  undemonstrative; 
conservative,  and  perhaps  at  times  a  little  too  much  so,  con- 
sidering the  rapid  evolution  of  the  State  in  which  we  live.  The 
new  Superior  was  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life,  full  of  energy  and 
vigor,  and  well  conversant  with  the  needs  of  the  hour.  He 
had  just  returned  from  Oregon,  where  he  had  given  a  retreat 
to  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  and  to  the  Benedictine  Fathers. 
The  official  transfer  of  superiorship  took  place  in  San  Jose, 
after  which  Father  Sasia  returned  to  San  Francisco. 

A  little  later,  Father  Jeremiah  Collins  replaced  Father 
Anthony  Tardella  as  Minister,  and  also  Father  Francis  Ignatius 
Prelato  as  treasurer  of  the  students,  the  latter  Father  having  filled 
the  office  uninterruptedly  for  some  twenty  years.  Father  Paul 
Mans  was  transferred  to  Los  Gatos,  where  he  became  master 
of  novices.  Father  Angelo  Coltelli  and  Mr.  Richard  Gleeson 
were  once  more  members  of  the  staff. 

On  August  5th,  Father  Prelato  took  charge  of  the  Presidio, 
and  from  that  day  to  this,  in  rain  and  in  shine,  has  devoted 
himself  to  the  soldiers'  care.  It  is  indeed  no  small  matter  for 
a  man  of  seventy-six  to  fast  until  late  mass,  and  preach,  and 
labor  Sunday  after  Sunday,  and  visit  the  hospital  during  the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         281 

week,  but  Father  Prelato's  heart  is  in  his  work,  and  love 
lightens  the  burden  of  toil.  A  few  days  previously,  on  the 
Feast  of  St.  Ignatius,  an  old  pupil  of  the  college,  Rev.  John  J. 
Cunningham,  S.  J.,  assisted  by  Rev.  Father  Sasia,  said  his  first 
mass  in  the  church  before  a  large  concourse.  Father  Cunning- 
ham had  taught  for  several  years  in  the  present  college,  and 
his  warm,  affectionate  heart  had  made  him  a  host  of  friends. 
After  his  near  relatives  had  received  his  blessing,  the  congrega- 
tion was  invited  to  approach  the  altar  railing  and  participate 
in  the  benedictions  which  the  Church  dispenses  by  the  hands 
of  her  newly-ordained  ministers.  The  multitude  responded, 
eager  to  honor  in  every  way  him  whom  the  Divine  Master 
had  so  honored. 

November  brought  with  it  the  celebration  of  the  Feasts  of 
the  recently  canonized  Saints,  Peter  Claver,  John  Berchmans 
and  Alphonsus  Rodriguez.  Three  Sundays  were  chosen  to  give 
more  time  to  prepare  for  each  celebration,  and  to  permit  of  more 
solemnity.  The  nth  was  set  aside  for  St.  Peter  Claver,  the 
Apostle  of  the  Negroes;  the  18th  for  St.  John  Berchmans;  the 
25th  for  St.  Alphonsus.  Besides  a  special  triduum  for  each  of 
the  three  occasions,  there  was,  on  the  day  itself,  Solemn  High 
Mass  and  a  panegyric  in  the  morning,  and  Solemn  Vespers  and 
Benediction  in  the  evening.  In  the  evenings,  also,  of  the  18th 
and  25th  there  was  a  sermon.  Money  was  not  spared  in  the 
adornment  of  church  and  altar,  and  the  result  was  a  marvel 
of  artistic  beauty.  The  portrait  of  each  Saint  occupied,  in 
turn,  the  position  of  honor  at  the  main  altar,  and,  during  the 
day,  copies  of  the  Saint's  life  were  distributed  to  all  who  entered 
the  church.  To  speak  of  the  numbers  present  at  the  ceremonies 
would  be  only  to  repeat  a  story  already  familiar  to  our  readers. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  festivity,  death  paid  its  visit  to  our 
household,  and  selected  Father  Joseph  Tadini  to  represent  St. 
Ignatius  at  the  glorius  triumph  in  heaven  of  St.  Alphonsus  Rodri- 
guez. On  Thursday,  November  22nd,  the  opening  day  of  the 
Saint's  triduum,  early  in  the  morning,  a  sudden  change  for  the 
worse  in  the  Father's  illness,  told  the  Brother  Infirmarian  that  the 
end  was  near.  Father  Varsi  hastened  from  the  adjoining  room, 
and  imparted  the  last  absolution  as  the  Father  breathed  his  last. 


282  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Seventy-three  years  of  life,  and  thirty-six  as  a  Jesuit,  had  woven 
his  eternal  crown,  and  the  gentlest  of  men,  for  such  was  Father 
Tadini,  entered  into  the  rest  promised  to  God's  faithful  servants. 
The  community  thus  rendered  less  by  one  member,  had  the  full 
number  restored  on  the  27th  of  December,  when  Father  Robert 
Kenna,  having  completed  his  term  as  president  of  Santa  Clara 
College,  was  transferred  to  San  Francisco  to  employ  his  well- 
known  zeal  in  the  works  of  the  ministry.  His  long  experience, 
moreover,  with  boys  and  young  men,  well  fitted  him  for  the  post 
of  religious  instructor  to  the  students,  and  this  office  was 
accordingly  confided  to  him. 

1889. 

On  January  4th,  1889,  the  classes  which  had  hitherto  been 
taught  in  the  lowest  story  of  the  college,  were  transferred  to 
classrooms  a  story  higher.  To  permit  of  this  change,  several 
rooms  had  to  be  taken  from  the  scientific  department  in  the 
third  story,  and  put  at  the  disposal  of  the  literary  classes.  This 
arrangement  indeed  had  its  advantages,  though  it  encroached 
somewhat  upon  the  realms  of  science;  but  we  suppose  that  the 
adage  is  still  true,  "Primum  est  vivere."  About  two  months 
later,  Father  Joseph  Bixio,  the  first  assistant  of  Father  Maraschi 
at  St.  Ignatius,  died  peacefully  in  Santa  Clara,  his  more  than 
half  a  century  of  religious  life  being  a  safe  pledge  of  a  blessed 
immortality. 

The  months  of  February  and  March  brought  several  distin- 
guished visitors  to  the  college,  Bishop  Murray  of  Australia; 
Bishop  Healy  of  Portland,  Maine;  Bishop  Borgess  of  Detroit; 
and  Father  Rudolph  Meyer,  former  Provincial  of  the  Jesuits 
of  the  Missouri  Province,  and,  at  present,  assistant  to  the  General 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  Father  Meyer  arrived  on  March  30th, 
as  official  Visitor  of  the  Californian  Mission.  As  but  four 
houses  constitute  this  jurisdiction,  those  of  St.  Ignatius,  Santa 
Clara,  San  Jose  and  Los  Gatos,  the  work  assigned  him  was  soon 
satisfactorily  completed,  and  on  June  17th  he  returned  to  his 
Province. 

Though  four  degrees  were  conferred  in  the  college  this  year, 
two  were  that  of  Master  of  Science;  and  two,  that  of  Bachelor 
of  Science.     No  classical  degrees  were  given.     The  same  notice 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         283 

that  last  year's  catalogue  contained  of  the  abolition  of  such 
degrees,  is  contained  in  that  of  the  present  year.  The  doing  away 
with  what  were  called  the  scientific  degrees  caused  for  a  time 
considerable  misunderstanding  outside  the  college.  Many  people 
thought  that  the  institution  had  abandoned  the  study  of  science, 
or  had  degraded  it  in  the  college  curriculum,  seeing  that  degrees 
were  no  longer  given  in  it:  and  no  one  could  blame  them  for 
so  natural  a  mistake.  The  error  had  been  in  specifying  the 
degree  as  scientific,  as  if,  by  antithesis,  the  classical  degrees  were 
not  scientific.  Now  the  fact  was  that  the  classical  degree 
embraced  the  scientific  in  all  its  fullness,  and  superadded  to  it 
the  culture  imparted  by  the  classical  studies  of  Latin  and  Greek. 
The  scientific  degree  was,  therefore,  kept  in  all  its  entirety,  but 
was  no  longer  imparted  as  a  separate  and  complete  degree,  being 
considered  as  the  complement  of  the  classical  studies,  and  hence, 
not  to  be  received  without  them.  True  science  was  indeed  bene- 
fited by  the  change,  for  the  more  cultured  the  mind  that  devotes 
itself  to  science,  the  more  thoroughly  is  science  appreciated; 
and  as,  other  things  equal,  the  classics  are  the  best  mind-formers, 
their  study  is  the  best  preparation  for  science. 

On  the  departure  of  Father  Vincent  Chiappa,  Father  Robert 
E.  Kenna  became  vice-president.  Messrs.  Henry  Whittle  and 
Henry  Hoffman,  S.  J.,  were  assistant  prefects  of  discipline;  Mr. 
Walter  Thornton,  S.  J.,  taught;  Father  Aloysius  Jacquet  helped 
in  the  work  of  the  ministry;  Father  Caesar  A.  Barchi  and 
Anthony  Tardella  departed  for  San  Jose. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  daily  mass  was  introduced  for  the 
students,  a  practice  which  has  continued  up  to  the  present  time. 

Three  of  the  following  months  of  the  year,  September, 
November  and  December,  each  took  from  this  present  life,  one 
who  had  earnestly  labored  for  the  welfare  of  St.  Ignatius.  At 
Chieri,  Italy,  on  September  28th,  Father  John  B.  Ponte  was  laid 
to  rest.  Both  as  Provincial  of  the  Turin  Province,  to  which  the 
Mission  of  California  belongs,  and  as  Visitor  and  Superior  in 
San  Francisco,  he  had  helped  to  guide  the  college  in  its  most 
difficult  days.  The  love  that  he  bore  St.  Ignatius  was  recipro- 
cated by  all  who  had  the  happiness  of  living  under  his  mild 
and  considerate  rule,  and  the  prayers  that  went  up  for  his  soul 
were  the  prayers  of  grateful  hearts. 


284  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Less  than  two  months  afterwards,  on  November  18th, 
Father  Aloysius  Masnata,  successor  to  Father  Ponte  as  Superior 
of  the  Mission,  piously  passed  away  at  Los  Gatos.  He  was 
born  on  May  2nd,  1823,  at  Rivarola,  Genoa,  Italy,  and  in  his 
eighteenth  year  joined  the  Society  of  Jesus  at  Chieri  on  Decem- 
ber 24th,  1840.  Having  made  his  preparatory  studies  of  rhetoric 
and  philosophy,  in  both  of  which  a  naturally  clear  and  logical 
mind  enabled  him  to  make  more  than  ordinary  progress,  he 
taught  for  some  years  in  the  Jesuit  Colleges  in  Sardinia.  Thence 
he  went  to  Vals,  France,  and  commenced  the  study  of  theology. 
Revolution,  however,  and  the  unsettled  state  of  affairs  in  Europe, 
compelled  Superiors  to  send  him  to  America,  where,  in  the 
scholasticate  at  Georgetown,  District  of  Columbia,  he  completed 
his  course.  In  the  beginning  of  1854,  he  was  Minister  and 
Socius  to  the  Master  of  Novices  at  Frederick,  Maryland,  and,  as 
we  have  seen,  came  in  the  same  year,  with  Fathers  Maraschi  and 
Messea  to  California.  An  able  professor  of  classics  and  a  lover 
of  the  sciences,  he  spent  many  years  of  successful  labor  in  the 
classroom.  President  of  Santa  Clara  College  from  1865  to 
1868,  he  was  next  Superior  of  the  residence  at  San  Jose,  until 
relieved  by  Father  Congiato  on  January  24th,  1870.  He  con- 
tinued, however,  to  labor  in  the  community  a  year  longer,  when 
he  became  parish  priest  of  Santa  Clara.  We  have  seen  how, 
while  filling  this  office,  he  became  Superior  of  the  Californian 
Mission  and  President  of  St.  Ignatius.  Relieved  of  both  offices, 
he  again  became  the  pastor  of  Santa  Clara,  until,  in  1886,  he 
went  to  take  care  of  the  spiritual  needs  of  Los  Gatos  and  super- 
vise the  building  of  the  Novitiate.  In  the  midst  of  his  brethren 
he  passed  to  his  reward. 

A  little  over  a  month  later,  death  claimed  Father  James 
Buchard,  whose  zeal  and  eloquence  had  made  the  name  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus  known  and  loved  all  over  the  Pacific  Slope. 
During  the  year  1889,  he  had  gone  on  his  missionary  excursions 
as  usual,  but  early  in  December  he  was  taken  seriously  ill.  Heart 
trouble  was  what  the  physicians  had  to  fight  against,  and  in  the 
case  of  a  man  of  Father  Buchard's  years,  could  not  but  excite 
apprehensions.  As  weeks  went  on,  the  seriousness  of  the  case 
became  more  and  more  apparent,  and  early  in  the  morning  of 
December  27th,  the  Feast  of  the  Beloved  Disciple,  Father  Buchard 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        285 

went  to  enjoy  the  recompense  of  years  of  useful  toil.  In  the 
afternoon,  the  body  was  taken  to  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality 
Chapel,  which  had  been  suitably  draped,  in  order  that  the  thou- 
sands who  had  received  instruction  from  his  lips,  or  poured  into 
his  ears  the  secrets  of  their  hearts,  might  have  a  chance  to  gaze 
for  the  last  time  upon  those  familiar  features.  The  stream  of 
people  continued  Saturday  and  Sunday,  and  on  Sunday  evening 
the  body  was  conveyed  to  the  church.  The  Office  of  the  Dead 
was  recited  on  the  following  morning,  and  a  Solemn  High  Mass 
sung,  owing  to  the  express  wish  of  His  Grace,  the  Most  Rev- 
erend Archbishop,  for  it  is  the  custom  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  ordi- 
narily, to  have  a  low  mass  for  their  dead.  Both  he  and  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  Manogue,  with  a  multitude  of  priests,  secular  and  regu- 
lar, were  in  the  sanctuary,  and,  after  mass,  he  pronounced  the 
absolution  over  the  remains.  Bishop  Manogue,  who  could  tear 
himself  from  his  friend  at  the  grave  only,  accompanied  the 
corpse  to  Santa  Clara. 

The  account  published  on  the  day  following  the  Father's 
death,  contained  a  simple,  but  appropriate,  eulogy  of  the  departed. 
"Father  Buchard,"  it  says,  "was  one  of  the  most  prominent 
priests  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  all  its 
members  here  are  in  deep  mourning  over  his  death.  His  beau- 
tiful character,  combining  all  the  virtues,  earned  the  esteem  and 
love  of  his  community;  and  his  venerable  mien  and  magnetic 
personality  always  attracted  the  attention  of  those  who  came 
in  contact  with  him.  So  it  was  that,  wherever  he  went  to  preach 
the  gospel,  the  striking  missionary  earned  the  affection  of  the 
congregations,  and  so  it  was  that  his  death  was  heard  with 
profound  expressions  of  regret  on  all  sides.  .  .  .  Father 
Buchard  preached  what  was  destined  to  be  his  final  sermon  on 
Sunday,  November  24th,  last,  in  St.  Ignatius  Church,  in  place 
of  Rev.  Father  Sasia,  S.  J.,  Superior  of  the  Jesuit  Order  in 
California.  Shortly  afterwards,  the  deceased  clergyman  was 
taken  with  the  old  heart  trouble  that  had  threatened  him  on 
former  occasions.  For  days  he  lay  in  an  uncertain  condition, 
but  during  the  last  few  days  of  his  life  he  brightened  up  and 
apparently  improved  considerably.  The  sudden  change  was, 
therefore,  a  surprise.  .  .  .  The  remains  were  laid  in  state 
on  a  catafalque  in  front  of  the  main  altar  of  the  Gentlemen's 


286  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

Sodality  Chapel,  the  interior  of  which  was  draped  in  mourning 
from  ceiling  to  floor.  Large  silver  and  white  crosses  in  somber 
black  drapery  covered  each  panel  of  the  wall ;  and  the  altar  rails, 
pillars  and  altars,  were  also  clad  in  black.  .  .  .  Inside  the 
casket  rested  the  dead  priest,  on  his  breast  the  crucifix  which 
he  had  held  so  often  before  congregations,  his  biretta  covering 
his  noble  brow,  and  his  long  white  beard  reaching  down  upon 
the  purple  chasuble  that  is  his  shroud.  His  face  was  perfectly 
calm,  with  slight  blushes  on  the  cheeks  and  a  benign  expression 
brightening  the  features.  In  death  he  lost  none  of  the  imposing, 
venerable  appearance  which  so  impressed  people  who  saw  him 
in  life." 

The  life  of  Father  Buchard  had  all  the  charms  and  elements 
of  a  romance.  He  was  born  in  September,  1823,  at  Muskagola, 
Indian  Territory.  His  father  was  an  Indian  Chief,  Kistalwa, 
head  of  the  Lenni-Lenappi,  a  branch  of  the  Delawares.  His 
mother  was  Marie  Elizabeth  Bucheur  or  Beshard,  a  child  of 
French  immigrants  from  Auvergne.  The  parents  of  his  mother 
having  been  massacred  by  Comanches,  she  was  adopted  by  the 
tribe,  and,  upon  reaching  marriageable  age,  was  espoused  by 
Kistalwa. 

Of  the  two  children  born  of  this  marriage,  Watomika  or 
Swift-Foot,  the  future  Father  Buchard  was  the  younger.  It  is 
said  that  even  from  infancy  he  showed  a  remarkably  religious 
spirit,  and  would  gather  his  little  companions  around  him  and 
tell  them  what  he  had  learned  from  his  mother  about  the  Great 
Spirit.  In  an  attack  upon  the  Sioux,  his  father  was  slain  and 
the  boy  left  an  orphan.  At  twelve,  he  was  taken  by  a  Pres- 
byterian missionary  to  Marietta  College,  Ohio,  and  in  due  time 
became  a  minister.  Sent  to  replace  a  preacher  in  St.  Louis,  he 
was  one  day  passing  by  a  church  in  which,  it  is  said,  Father 
Damen  was  giving  a  catechetical  instruction  to  children.  He 
was  prompted  to  enter  to  see  what  was  going  on.  He  listened, 
was  impressed  by  what  he  heard,  sought  more  light,  and  was 
received  into  the  Church  in  January,  1846.  On  July  26th,  1848, 
he  became  a  Jesuit,  and  was  ordained  priest  in  1856.  Five  years 
later  he  came  westward,  and,  as  we  know,  labored  here  until  his 
death.     His  mission,  he  often  said,  was  to  seek  out  the  stray 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        287 

sheep  of  Christ  in  mountain  town  or  mining  camp,  and  hence  he 
preferred  to  leave  missions  in  the  large  cities  to  others.  He 
was  a  man  fearless  in  doing  God's  work,  as  he  showed  on  more 
than  one  occasion  when  bigotry  sought  to  keep  him  from  a  dying 
bed.  That  calm,  refined,  saintly  soul,  with  every  feeling  in  such 
perfect  check,  knew  when,  in  the  cause  of  righteousness,  to 
unchain  the  lion  that  was  in  him,  and  those  that  had  thought  to 
browbeat,  were  profuse  in  apologies. 

On  the  very  night  following  the  Father's  decease,  the  old 
building  on  Market  Street,  within  whose  walls  the  voice  of  the 
dead  missionary  had  so  often  been  heard,  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
Since  its  abandonment  for  church  and  college  purposes,  it  had 
been  hired  out  to  various  parties,  who  had  put  it  to  as  varied  uses. 
What  had  been  used  as  a  church,  was,  at  this  time,  the  ware- 
house and  salesrooms  of  the  New  York  Furniture  Manufacturing 
Company;  the  old  residence  was  devoted  to  offices  on  the  three 
main  floors,  while  the  low  attic  had  become  a  sort  of  cheap  lodg- 
ing house. 

In  this  latter,  when  the  fire  had  been  subdued,  three  charred 
bodies  were  found,  victims  of  the  fatal  conflagration.  They, 
whose  remains  these  blackened  corpses  were,  had  been  wakened 
from  sleep,  only  to  be  stifled  by  the  smoke  and  consumed  by  the 
remorseless  flames.  The  fire  had  originated  "in  the  extreme 
rear  of  the  building,  devoted  to  mattress  making  and  upholster- 
ing," says  the  account  of  the  disaster.  "The  wind  was  from  the 
south,  and  the  flames  had  a  draught  130  feet  long."  The  writer 
is  speaking  of  the  church,  which,  facing  north  and  south,  served 
as  a  sort  of  funnel  for  the  flames.  "These,"  he  continues,  "went 
roaring  through  to  Market  Street  with  nothing  to  even  attempt 
to  bar  their  progress,  for  fully  fifteen  minutes  after  the  fire  was 
discovered. 

A  small  boy  first  saw  the  smoke  issuing  from  one  of  the 
windows  about  10  p.  m.  He  paid  little  heed,  however,  and  it 
was  left  for  Officer  McLaughlin,  fifteen  minutes  later,  to  give 
the  alarm. 

Captain  Jim  Riley  was  in  charge,  in  the  absence  of  Chief 
Scannell,  and  he  found  his  skill  taxed  to  the  utmost  in  overcom- 
ing the  difficulties  of  getting  hose  to  bear  upon  the  main  body 
of  the  warehouse  where  the  furniture  was  stored.    A  glance  suf- 


288  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

ficed  to  let  him  know  that  his  force  was  insufficient,  and  by  his 
orders  a  new  alarm  was  turned  in  at  once,  bringing  out  the 
remainder  of  the  engines  stationed  in  this  district.  By  the  time 
the  gathering  of  people  commenced,  the  church  roof  was  in  a 
blaze,  presenting  an  interesting  spectacle  to  all  without  personal 
interest  in  the  building  and  contents.  The  firemen  had  two  hours' 
hard  work.  At  first,  it  looked  as  though  the  flames  would  be 
confined  to  the  old  church  building,  but  they  managed  to  creep 
through  into  the  attic  of  the  adjoining  structure,  and  there  they 
played  sad  havoc  with  the  unfortunate  dwellers  in  the  tenaments 
under  the  roof.  It  was  a  hard  place  to  get  at  a  fire,  and  the 
fight  lasted  until  i  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  the  flames  were 
beaten  down  and  pronounced  within  control. 

A  dozen  little  sheds  and  tents  on  the  space  between  the 
building's  front  and  the  inner  edge  of  the  sidewalk,  occupied  by 
small  merchants,  all  took  fire  and  gave  the  department  additional 
labor.  Two  of  the  school  buildings  in  the  rear  were  also  on 
fire  at  one  time,  but,  unfortunately,  the  blaze  was  extinguished 
with  but  little  damage,  and  hundreds  of  little  ones  will  still  be 
condemned  to  risk  their  lives  daily  in  the  ramshackle  old  rook- 
eries." The  school  buildings  of  which  the  reporter  speaks,  were, 
doubtless,  the  Lincoln  Primaries,  which  ran  along  Market  near 
the  corner  of  Fifth. 

While  the  loss  of  life  and  property  was  regretted,  there  was 
no  regret  that  the  old  buildings  were  no  more.  They  had  long 
been  an  eye-sore  to  the  public  and  a  heart-sore  to  the  Fathers, 
who,  had  circumstances  permitted,  would  have  torn  the  buildings 
down  rather  than  have  seen  them  turned  to  profane  uses.  But 
what  could  be  done  with  the  immense  burden  of  debt  that  was 
crushing  them?  The  buildings  had  never  been  consecrated,  and 
were,  in  fact,  but  a  temporary  substitute  for  a  church;  hence 
there  was  nothing  wrong  in  converting  them  to  the  ordinary  uses 
of  life ;  but  there  was  the  old  sentiment,  and  the  love  and  ven- 
eration which  could  not  be  dissociated  from  them,  and  nature 
chafed  under  the  humiliation  that  hard  necessity  imposed. 
Hence  it  was  a  relief  that  the  old  buildings  were  but  a  memory, 
since  all  that  was  hallowed  could  again  cluster  round  them,  and 
not  be  rudely  dashed  aside  by  the  unseemly  reality. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        289 

1890. 

In  January  and  the  early  days  of  February,  1890,  the  grip 
made  its  presence  felt  in  the  community  of  St.  Ignatius,  and, 
though  no  case  proved  fatal,  the  number  of  sick  made  it  difficult 
to  carry  on  the  ordinary  work  of  church  and  college.  On  March 
20th,  the  community  lost  one  of  its  most  efficient  workers,  when 
ill-health  obliged  Father  Charles  Messea  to  seek  relief  in  Santa 
Clara.  He  was  taken  seriously  ill  about  the  10th  of  the  preced- 
ing December,  and  had  been  obliged,  on  that  day,  to  turn  over 
to  Father  Prelato  the  recitation  of  the  beads  in  the  church,  and 
the  giving  of  the  little  nightly  instruction  which  was  so  dear 
to  him.  His  condition  was,  at  first,  serious ;  but  he  subsequently 
rallied,  though  it  was  evident  to  all  that  the  climate  of  San 
Francisco  could  not  fail  to  be  prejudicial  to  the  health  of  one 
so  advanced  in  years  and  such  a  martyr  to  rheumatism.  It  was 
a  painful  trial  for  him  to  feel  infirmity  sapping  his  strength,  and 
incapacitating  him  for  the  works  of  active  zeal  in  which  he  had 
delighted,  but  he  bore  all  with  admirable  patience  and  never 
made  complaint. 

In  the  following  April,  the  gift  of  $50,000  from  Mrs.  Bertha 
Welch,  in  memory  of  her  departed  husband,  Andrew  Welch, 
permitted  Father  Varsi  to  begin  his  long-cherished  project  of 
the  interior  adornment  of  the  church.  The  gift  did  not  cover 
by  some  tens  of  thousands  the  magnificent  work,  but  the  addi- 
tional funds  were  supplied  by  the  same  generous  hand,  according 
as  they  were  needed. 

"St.  Ignatius  Church,"  says  the  Chronicle  of  April  18th,  1890, 
"is  to  be  decorated  in  a  manner  and  at  an  outlay  that  will  make 
it  the  most  notable  building  of  its  kind  in  San  Francisco.  The 
decorations  will  cost  about  $30,000,  and  the  new  stained-glass 
windows,  twenty-four  in  number,  will,  perhaps,  cost  as  much 
more.  The  decoration  is  to  be  the  work  of  Moretti  and  Trezzini 
of  this  city ;  and  the  designs,  the  work  of  A.  Moretti,  were  sub- 
mitted yesterday  for  the  approval  of  the  Fathers. 

The  designs  for  the  decorations  belong  to  the  pure  classic 
school  of  the  Italian  Renaissance,  and  the  coloring  will  be  the 
coloring  of  that  age  and  thought. 


290  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

In  the  ceiling  of  the  church,  the  huge  ventilators  that  now 
so  disfigure  it,  are  to  be  taken  out,  longitudinal  beams  are  to  be 
run  the  full  length  of  the  church,  forming,  with  the  cross-beams 
already  there,  a  succession  of  panels  twenty-four  in  number.  In 
each  of  these  panels  will  be  a  massive  centerpiece  cast  in  plaster, 
and  of  beautiful  design.  These  will  hang  far  down  from  the 
ceiling.  The  intersecting  beams  will  be  decorated,  first,  by  mold- 
ings carved  in  Renaissance  style,  and  then  by  painted  ornaments 
in  the  flat  and  lower  portions.  The  panels  formed  by  their  inter- 
sections are  to  be  decorated  with  a  geometrical  figure,  enriched 
with  gold  and  color. 

In  the  main  cornice  next  the  ceiling  will  be  a  succession  of 
medallions  or  brackets;  in  the  small,  flat  spaces  between  these 
will  be  placed  several  hundred  small  ventilators.  Each  ventila- 
tor will  be  covered  by  an  ornament  in  plaster,  which  will  hang 
below  it,  thereby  completely  concealing  the  aperture  from  view. 

The  frieze,  at  the  top  of  the  wall,  will  be  decorated  with  a 
design  of  angels'  heads  and  wings  with  connecting  festoons. 
The  long,  narrow  spaces  between  the  side  windows  will  be  cut 
across  by  a  rich  heavy  molding.  Above  this  will  be  painted  in 
bas  relief,  the  figures  of  angels,  each  seven  feet  in  height.  These 
figures — thirty-two  in  all — will  be  surrounded  by  religious 
emblems.  Below  the  moldings  will  be  beautiful  figured  can- 
delabra, Renaissance  in  design. 

The  columns  between  the  windows  will  be  marbleized  and 
highly  polished.  Midway  up  the  wall,  cutting  it  in  half,  is  a 
massive  cornice.  Below  this  will  be  a  decorative  frieze,  and 
over  the  arches  of  the  great  pillars  that  support  the  wall,  will  be 
painted  heads  of  saints  with  emblems — all  in  bas  relief.  All  of 
the  pillars  of  the  church  will  be  marbleized. 

At  the  front  of  the  sanctuary,  and  above  the  arch,  a  large 
angelic  group,  with  emblems,  will  be  painted. 

Back  of  the  altar  will  be  the  striking  feature  of  the  decora- 
tion. The  wall  there  is  now  flat  and  plain,  but  the  cunning  dec- 
orator will  paint  a  perspective  design,  making  the  flat  wall  appear 
to  recede  in  a  semi-circular  shape,  and  forming  a  great  classic 
dome  that  will  give  to  the  already  spacious  church  the  effect  of 
magnificent  distances.     The  wall  back  of  the  altars  in  the  two 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         291 

chapels  (Blessed  Virgin's  and  St.  Joseph's)  will  be  similarly 
treated. 

In  the  treating  of  the  coloring,  Mr.  Moretti  will  produce  a 
bold,  and,  for  this  part  of  the  country,  an  original  effect.  But 
three  colors  will  be  used — white,  stucco  and  blue — these  to  be 
supplemented  with  gold,  the  church  thus  gaining  that  appearance 
of  simple  unity  so  essential  to  true  beauty. 

The  windows,  which  are  to  be  of  the  most  exquisite  work- 
manship, are  to  be  made  in  Munich.  There  are  to  be  twenty- 
four;  eight  will  represent  scenes  in  the  life  of  our  Lord;  eight, 
scenes  in  the  life  of  the  Blessed  Virgin;  four,  scenes  in  the  life 
of  St.  Ignatius;  and  four  will  contain  groups  of  angels." 

Expectations  were  raised  to  a  high  pitch  by  the  amount  of 
the  gift,  the  well-known  taste  of  Father  Varsi,  and  the  ability 
of  the  decorators  to  whose  brains  and  hands  the  designing  and 
executing  had  been  confided ;  the  result,  however,  surpassed  even 
expectations. 

On  the  14th  of  April,  the  work  was  commenced,  and  soon 
the  carpenters  were  busy  raising  the  immense  scaffolding.  Soon, 
too,  there  was  plenty  of  trouble.  On  May  1st,  the  carpenters 
would  not  work  because  they  were  taking  part  in  the  general 
strike.  On  the  next  day  they  were  at  work.  On  the  5th, 
some  of  them  went  to  work,  but  soon  "struck,"  to  protest 
against  any  reduction  in  their  wages:  consequently  work  was 
suspended  until  contractors  and  workmen  could  come  to  some 
agreement.  On  the  6th  the  strike  continues.  On  the  7th  some 
of  the  carpenters  return  to  work,  and,  thenceforward,  things 
seem  to  have  proceeded  smoothly.  Some  weeks  later,  when  the 
scaffolding  was  fairly  well  advanced,  what  might  have  been  an 
unfortunate  accident  was  averted  by  Divine  Providence.  A 
plank  fell  from  on  high  and  was  broken  into  pieces  in  a  pew 
in  which  a  lady  was  praying.  Apart  from  a  severe  fright,  she 
received  no  injury,  but  a  notice  was  immediately  posted,  warn- 
ing visitors  to  the  church,  to  avoid  the  pews  in  the  body  of 
the  edifice. 

On  his  return  from  Florissant,  Missouri,  whither  he  had 
gone  last  year,  Father  Chiappa  was  made  vice-president,  and 
Father  Kenna  resumed  his  former  office  of  catechist.     Father 


292  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Sullivan,  relieved  from  this  duty,  again  devoted  himself  exclu- 
sively to  the  ministry.  Mr.  Wm.  Culligan,  S.  J.,  and  Mr.  Henry 
Hoffman,  S.  J.,  were  detached  from  the  college  faculty  and 
sent  elsewhere;  and  Fathers  John  Sardi  and  Anthony  Tardella, 
together  with  Messrs.  George  Butler  and  Joseph  Lydon,  replaced 
them  on  the  college  lists. 

On  July  7th,  at  Los  Gatos,  Father  Paul  Mans,  whose  name 
has  so  often  appeared  in  these  pages,  died  a  saintly  death.  He 
had,  but  a  few  days  before,  finished  the  annual  retreat  to  the 
secular  clergy  in  Santa  Clara,  and  during  this  work  of  zeal  had 
felt  himself  seriously  indisposed.  He  said  nothing,  as  was  his 
wont,  but  bore  up  bravely  under  intense  sufferings.  On  his 
return  to  Los  Gatos,  he  had  to  take  to  his  bed,  a  luxury  which 
he  had  denied  himself  for  years.  It  was  soon  evident  that  all 
hopes  of  saving  his  life  would  have  to  be  abandoned,  and,  after 
a  veritable  martyrdom,  he  breathed  his  last. 

"Father  Mans  was  a  true  priest,"  says  an  admirer,  and  he 
speaks  truly,  "in  all  that  pertains  to  that  sacred  office.  No  labor 
was  too  severe  for  him,  no  privation  too  great  for  him ;  his  daily 
life  was  a  sermon  to  every  soul  constituting  his  flock.  Simple 
as  a  child,  devoted  to  God,  with  every  work  undertaken  for 
God's  greater  honor  and  glory,  he  has  gone  before  the  Judgment 
Seat  with  his  hands  filled  with  the  good  works  and  the  great 
charities  that  he  performed  for  the  poor,  the  sick  and  the  orphan, 
during  his  holy  life  of  poverty,  chastity  and  obedience." 

The  Church  of  St.  Ignatius,  on  the  4th  of  August,  was  the 
scene  of  a  magnificent  display,  when  some  two  thousand  mem- 
bers of  the  Young  Men's  Institute  gathered  within  its  walls  to 
attend  Solemn  Mass.  Rev.  Father  Sasia  addressed  them  in  elo- 
quent terms,  showing  forth  the  beauty  and  power  of  Catholic 
organizations,  and  what  constitutes  the  Catholic  life. 

"As  the  procession  entered  the  church,"  says  the  account  of 
the  event,  "the  flag  bearers  marched  to  the  altar  rails  and  placed 
their  flags  and  banners  around  the  sanctuary  pillars,  so  that  when 
mass  was  begun  and  the  altars  brilliantly  illuminated,  a  rare 
sight  was  witnessed.  American  flags  hung  down  in  graceful 
folds  over  Institute  banners,  making  a  pleasant  contrast,  and 
the  sanctuary  was  framed  in  the  national  colors.     Innumerable 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         293 

lights  sparkled  around  the  altars  like  so  many  jewels  in  a  white 
and  gold  diadem,  for  the  high  altar  of  St.  Ignatius  is  rich  in 
these  colors.  Candelabra  burned  their  many  tapers  brightly  in 
the  sanctuary,  and  all  the  altars  were  illuminated,  and  bedecked 
with  beautiful  flowers.     .     .     . 

'I  remember  reading  not  long  since,'  said  Father  Sasia  in 
his  sermon,  'of  the  daring  project  of  a  clever  engineer,  who 
thought  of  utilizing  the  powerful  momentum  of  Niagara  and 
transforming  it  into  a  vast  storage  of  electrical  force.  He  saw 
the  tremendous  rush  of  the  great  waterfall  that  was  only  wast- 
ing itself  in  grinding  away  its  own  bed,  and  he  asked  why  it 
should  not  be  transformed  into  a  force  that  might  revolutionize 
the  industries  and  commerce  of  the  land. 

In  like  manner  we  behold  a  vast  amount  of  human  energy 
and  moral  power,  either  lying  dormant,  or  spent  on  purposes 
that  do  not  rise  above  the  petty  interests  of  earth,  but  which,  if 
once  thoroughly  aroused  and  properly  directed,  may  be  made 
instrumental  in  achieving  the  noblest  ends  and  accomplishing 
the  highest  results.  That  power,  that  energy,  we  find  in  the 
action,  courage  and  intelligence  of  our  Catholic  young  men,  and 
the  secret  of  its  usefulness  and  strength  lies  in  their  union  and 
organization  under  the  auspices,  influence  and  guidance  of  their 
Holy  Mother,  the  Church.'  " 

Two  thousand  young  men  are  said  to  have  taken  part  in  the 
ceremonies;  a  sight  well  fitted  to  stir  up  all  the  eloquence  of  the 
speaker's  soul. 

In  September,  the  pulpit,  which  hitherto  had  been  movable, 
was  made  stationary  where  the  present  pulpit  is;  the  position 
found  by  experiment  to  be  most  convenient  for  the  preacher  and 
his  hearers. 

On  October  19th,  a  large  audience  had  gathered  in  the 
church  to  hear  Rev.  Father  Sasia  lecture  on  the  "Reasonable- 
ness of  Catholic  Belief,"  the  proceeds  to  be  given  to  the  fund 
which  was  being  raised  for  the  new  Cathedral.  Suddenly  all 
the  gaslights  in  the  Fathers'  residence  were  extinguished,  and 
the  flickering  jets  in  the  church  threatened  utter  darkness.  The 
condition  of  affairs  was  by  no  means  a  pleasant  one,  for  there 
was  fear  of  a  panic.     The  telephone  was  called  into  requisition; 


294 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


all  haste  was  made  by  the  proper  parties  to  repair  the  defective 
meter;  and  the  "Reasonableness  of  Catholic  Belief"  was  set  forth 
in  equal  material  and  mental  brilliancy. 

1891. 

The  main  event  of  1891  was  the  celebration  of  the  tercen- 
tenary of  the  death  of  St.  Aloysius.  It  was  for  this  celebration 
that  the  decoration  of  the  church  was  to  be  finished,  a  delicate 
tribute  to  St.  Aloysius  and  to  Father  Aloysius  Varsi,  his  client. 
As  early  as  April  14th,  a  temporary  altar  had  been  erected  in 
the  sanctuary,  in  order  to  permit  of  the  embellishment  of  the 
main  altar.  Work  went  on  steadily,  and  on  June  15th  the 
church  was  closed  to  the  public,  masses  being  said  in  the  Gen- 
tlemen's Sodality  Chapel.  On  Saturday  afternoon,  June  20th, 
the  church  was  opened  for  confessions,  and  all  was  ready  for 
the  feast.  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Riordan,  pontificated,  and 
His  Lordship,  Bishop  O'Connell,  was  present  in  the  sanctuary. 
Rt.  Rev.  James  A.  Healy,  who,  with  his  brother,  Father  Patrick 
Healy,  had  arrived  on  the  15th  inst,  delivered  the  panegyric  of 
the  Saint.  The  closing  exercises  of  the  Girls'  Sunday-school 
were  held  in  the  college  hall  in  the  afternoon.  They  were  destined 
to  close  not  only  the  year,  but  also  the  school  as  well,  for,  on 
July  25th,  Father  Henry  Imoda  became  Superior  of  the  Cali- 
fornian  Mission,  in  place  of  Father  Joseph  Sasia,  and  the  Girls' 
Sunday-school  was  never  reopened;  Father  Imoda  considering 
that  the  time  had  arrived  when  the  work  could  be  conveniently 
turned  over  to  others.  In  the  evening,  Pontifical  Vespers  and 
Solemn  Benediction  by  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Riordan,  ended 
the  spiritual  festivities  of  the  occasion. 

"Four  thousand  people  assisted  at  the  Grand  Pontifical  Mass 
in  St.  Ignatius  Church  last  Sunday,"  said  the  Monitor  of  the 
following  week,  "and  fully  as  many  more  wished  to  do  so,  could 
they  but  get  within  the  vestibule  doors.  The  announcement 
that  the  Jesuit  Fathers  were  to  celebrate  the  tercentenary  of 
the  death  of  St.  Aloysius  Gonzaga  with  great  pomp  and  sol- 
emnity, and  that  the  grand  and  beautiful  improvements  that 
have  been  made  in  this  church  could  be  seen  for  the  first  time  on 
that  day,  attracted  such  a  large  Catholic  congregation. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        295 

All  the  early  masses  in  the  church  were  unusually  well 
attended,  and,  as  the  hours  grew  on,  the  congregation  increased. 
When  the  9 130  o'clock  mass  was  concluded,  the  people  who 
were  anxiously  waiting  outside  the  edifice,  were  admitted.  In 
the  body  of  St.  Ignatius  Church  seventeen  hundred  people  can 
be  seated,  but,  five  minutes  after  the  people  were  allowed  to  enter, 
it  was  impossible  to  find  a  vacant  seat.  Still  the  crowd  increased, 
the  people  only  too  happy  to  obtain  standing  room. 

The  aisles  were  packed  from  the  altar  rail  to  the  vestibule 
doors,  the  gallery  was  filled  to  overflowing,  and  even  the  choir 
loft  held  a  large  number  of  people  exclusive  of  the  singers.  The 
long  and  deep  granite  steps  leading  to  the  church  were 
freighted  with  men,  women  and  children,  who  could  see 
nothing  and  hear  but  little  more.  True,  the  grand,  resonant 
tones  of  the  large  organ  and  the  melodious  voices  of  the  one 
hundred  singers  were  occasionally  wafted  out  to  them,  and  it 
was  only  then  that  they  could  surmise  what  was  going  on  inside. 
It  was  notable,  though,  at  the  solemn  parts  of  the  mass,  when 
those  inside  were  kneeling,  a  large  number  of  the  people  on  the 
steps  would  follow  their  example.  To  see  well-dressed  men 
and  women,  just  as  those  that  were  poorly  clad,  kneel  on  the 
hard  stone,  and,  with  bowed  heads,  adore  their  Lord  and  Savior 
regardless  of  surroundings  or  publicity,  shows  the  true  faith  in 
a  manner  more  eloquent  and  impressive  than  mere  words. 

To  look  from  the  choir  on  the  scene  within  the  sacred  edifice 
was  a  delight  which,  those  fortunate  enough  to  enjoy  it,  will  long 
remember.  To  see  in  the  sanctuary  prelates  and  priests  in  gor- 
geous gold  vestments,  dazzling  in  the  sunlight  which  entered 
through  the  magnificent  stained-glass  windows;  to  gaze  at  the 
work  of  the  artists'  hands  so  beautifully  adorning  ceiling  and 
wall;  to  look  at  the  mass  of  humanity  below,  and  then  to  have 
one's  very  soul  elevated  by  the  solemn,  sacred  music,  was  indeed 
entrancing. 

It  was  exactly  10:35  when  the  long  line  of  acolytes,  clergy 
and  prelates  entered  from  the  sacristy,  and  moved  in  slow  pro- 
cession to  the  high  altar.  First  came  members  of  the  Altar 
Society,  in  crimson  cassocks  and  lace  surplices;  then  the  sur- 
pliced  clergy,   followed  by  censor  and  cross-bearers;  then  the 


296  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

chaplains  and  assistant  chaplains,  robed  in  white  silk  copes, 
chasubles  and  dalmatics,  followed  by  the  deacons  of  honor 
and  attendant  clerics,  wearing  rich  robes  of  woven  gold; 
and,  lastly,  Archbishop  Riordan,  in  grand  pontifical  vestments. 
Seated  in  the  sanctuary  were  Bishop  Healy  of  Portland,  Maine; 
Rt.  Rev.  Eugene  O'Connell,  Bishop  of  Joppa;  and  a  number  of 
Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  The  officers  of  the  Grand 
Pontifical  Mass  were  as  follows : 

Celebrant,  Most  Rev.  P.  W.  Riordan;  assistant  priest,  Very 
Rev.  Joseph  Sasia,  S.  J. ;  first  assistant  deacon,  Rev.  V.  Chiappa, 
S.  J. ;  second  assistant  deacon,  Rev.  A.  Jacquet,  S.  J. ;  officiating 
deacon,  Rev.  A.  Coltelli,  S.  J. ;  officiating  sub-deacon,  Rev.  J. 
D'Aponte,  S.  J. ;  crozier  bearer,  Mr.  Jos.  Lydon,  S.  J. ;  miter 
bearer,  Mr.  John  Volio,  S.  J. ;  book  bearer,  Mr.  J.  Brown,  S.  J. ; 
candle  bearer,  Mr.  R.  Dreano,  S.  J. ;  sub-deacon  of  the  cross,  Mr. 
W.  Thornton,  S.  J. ;  masters  of  ceremonies,  Rev.  Father  Collins, 
S.  J.,  Mr.  Ford,  S.  J.,  and  Mr.  Butler,  S.  J." 

"In  this  city,"  says  the  Call  of  the  following  day,  "the  patron 
of  youth  was  honored  on  a  scale  of  grandeur  never  before 
attempted  within  the  walls  of  a  San  Francisco  church.  The 
principal  ceremony  was,  of  course,  at  St.  Ignatius,  where  two 
joyful  events,  the  reopening  of  the  sacred  edifice  (which  has 
been  in  the  hands  of  decorators  for  a  twelvemonth)  and  the  fes- 
tival itself — each  contributed  its  quota  of  interest  to  the  day's  pro- 
ceedings and  made  the  celebration  an  imposing  and  memora- 
ble one. 

The  reopening  itself  was  attended  with  no  special  ceremony, 
the  building  having  been  already  dedicated.  During  the  latter 
days  of  the  week,  the  canvas  which  concealed  the  decorative 
work  was  removed,  the  finishing  touches  were  put  on  where 
necessary,  and,  at  the  5  o'clock  mass  yesterday  morning,  the 
congregation,  for  the  first  time  in  a  year  and  over,  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  gazing  at  the  walls  and  ceiling,  and  admiring  the 
adornment. 

From  that  early  hour  until  10  o'clock,  a  conservative  esti- 
mate of  the  attendance  at  the  hourly  masses  places  the  number 
at  twenty  thousand ;  fully  seven  thousand  attended  the  Pontifical 
High  Mass  between   10:30  and   1:30  o'clock;  an  even  larger 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        297 

congregation  assembled  for  Pontifical  Vespers,  and  between  the 
services  over  five  thousand  visitors  examined  the  handsome 
interior,  or  paid  private  devotion  at  the  Saint's  shrine — so  that 
a  low  calculation  of  the  immense  throng  that  surged  back  and 
forth,  from  early  morning  until  late  last  night,  puts  the  number 
at  forty  thousand. 

Most  of  the  prominent  features  of  the  frescos,  paintings 
and  improvements  have  already  been  noted.  The  prevailing 
tint,  which  might  be  described  as  a  light  russet  brown,  is  one  of 
those  pleasing  neutral  shades,  which  brings  out  to  the  best  advan- 
tage the  beauties  of  the  paneled  ceiling,  the  many  arched  nave 
and  the  splendid  sanctuary,  with  their  elaborate  gildings  and 
frescoings,  and  the  score  of  stained-glass  windows,  each  worth 
a  small  fortune  in  itself,  so  artistic  are  they  all  in  conception 
and  execution.  The  only  exception  to  the  color  rule  is  the 
bright,  high  altar,  which  is  thrown  into  bold  relief  by  a  treat- 
ment of  gold  and  white. 

The  windows,  from  their  value  as  examples  of  high  art, 
attracted  considerable  attention  on  every  side.  They  are  twenty- 
four  in  number,  four  being  in  the  choir  overlooking  the  entrance, 
two  on  each  side  of  the  high  altar,  and  eight  on  each  side  of 
the  nave.  Those  in  the  choir  represent  four  scenes  from  the 
life  of  St.  Ignatius,  Founder  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  the  picture 
of  the  saint  in  each  instance  being  a  correct  reproduction  of  his 
features  as  preserved  in  oil  paintings  of  his  time,  still  in  posses- 
sion of  the  Jesuit  Fathers. 

The  first  window  shows  him  in  the  act  of  writing  the  book 
of  the  Spiritual  Exercises  in  Manresa,  under  the  special  protec- 
tion of  the  Mother  of  God.  In  the  second,  he  and  his  first  com- 
panions are  pictured  consecrating  themselves  to  God  by  vow  in 
the  Chapel  of  Montmartre,  Paris.  The  third  window  represents 
the  apparition  of  our  Divine  Lord  to  St.  Ignatius  on  his  way 
to  Rome,  promising  him  protection  in  his  undertaking.  In  the 
fourth,  St.  Ignatius  is  shown  before  Paul  III,  presenting  to 
the  Pope  the  Constitutions  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  just  founded. 

The  four  altar  windows  give  an  allegorical  representation 
of  the  glory  of  Paradise,  with  the  angelic  choir  singing  hymns 
of  praise  to  the  Almighty.  The  windows  on  the  gospel  side  of 
the  nave  represent  eight  mysteries  in  the  life  of  the  Mother 


298  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

of  God,  viz :  The  Immaculate  Conception,  the  Nativity  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  the  Presentation  in  the  Temple,  the  Espousals 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  St.  Joseph,  the  Annunciation,  the 
Visit  to  St.  Elizabeth,  the  Presentation  of  the  Infant  Savior  in 
the  Temple,  and  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  into 
Heaven. 

On  the  epistle  side  of  the  nave  is  an  equal  number  of  windows 
representing  incidents  in  the  life  of  Our  Lord,  viz :  His  Birth, 
the  Disputing  with  the  Doctors  in  the  Temple,  His  Baptism  in 
the  Jordan,  the  Last  Supper,  Our  Lord  in  the  Garden  of  Olives, 
the  Crucifixion,  the  Resurrection,  and  the  Ascension. 

Among  the  other  works  of  art  are  the  paintings  hung  above 
the  confessionals.  As  one  makes  the  round  of  the  church,  com- 
mencing at  the  gospel  side  of  the  entrance,  these  are  met  with 
in  the  following  order :  The  Jesuit  Martyrs  of  Japan ;  St.  Fran- 
cis Borgia  seeking  admission  into  the  Society  of  Jesus;  St. 
John  Francis  Regis;  St.  Francis  de  Hieronymo,  the  Apostle  of 
Naples;  St.  Peter  Claver,  the  Apostle  of  the  Negroes;  St.  John 
Berchmans;  St.  Stanislas  Kostka;  St.  Alphonsus  Rodriguez; 
the  martyrdom  of  Blessed  John  de  Britto ;  that  of  Blessed  Andrew 
Bobola ;  of  Blessed  Ignatius  de  Azavedo  and  companions ;  Blessed 
Charles  Spinola  blessing  the  Infant  Ignatius  and  his  mother; 
and  Blessed  Edmund  Campion  and  other  English  martyrs — all 
of  whom,  Saints  and  Blessed,  were  members  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus  during  their  lifetime." 

While,  in  the  preceding  account,  the  number  that  attended 
the  Solemn  Mass  is  somewhat  exaggerated,  since  it  does  not 
seem  possible  that  the  number  could  have  exceeded  four  thou- 
sand, unless  the  crowds  outside  the  church,  and  those  that 
came  and  went  during  the  service,  were  taken  into  considera- 
tion; it  is  remarkably  correct  in  other  particulars,  and  in  no 
way  overestimates  the  total  number  of  persons  that,  on  that 
memorable  occasion,  visited  the  church.  The  money  employed 
had  been  well  spent;  God's  house  had  been  embellished  and  a 
place  of  beauty  erected  for  God's  poor,  whither  they  could  come 
at  will  to  gaze  upon  the  treasures  of  sacred  art,  and  enjoy  a  fore- 
taste of  what  heaven  contains  for  them  if  they  patiently  bear 
the  trials  of  their  present  lot.  A  month  later,  July  22nd,  Bishop 
Healy  and  his  brother  set  their  faces  homeward. 


MAIN  ALTAR 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        299 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  appointment  of  Rev.  Henry 
Imoda  as  Superior  of  the  Mission  on  July  25th.  It  was  only 
the  adding  of  a  new  dignity  to  the  old,  for  he  still  remained 
president  of  the  college.  Rev.  Father  Sasia  returned  to  the 
chair  of  philosophy.  Fathers  Michael  Shallo,  Henry  Woods, 
James  O'Sullivan  and  John  D'Aponte;  Messrs.  Richard  Bell, 
Joseph  De  Rop  and  Henry  Raiders,  S.  J.,  were  the  new  members 
of  the  faculty.  Of  the  old  faculty  we  miss  Fathers  Robert 
Kenna,  Aloysius  Jacquet  and  Angelo  Coltelli,  as  likewise  Messrs. 
Henry  Whittle,  John  Ford,  Walter  Thornton.  Joseph  Lydon 
and  Richard  Gleeson,  S.  J. 

During  the  year,  the  college  had  been  honored  by  the  visit 
of  Archbishop  Gross  and  Bishop  Lemmens,  in  January;  and  by 
that  of  Bishop  Grimes  of  New  Zealand  on  August  2nd,  on  which 
occasion  he  celebrated  Pontifical  Mass  in  honor  of  St.  Ignatius. 
After  the  gigantic  work  which  we  have  just  described  in  the 
matter  of  church  embellishment,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that 
a  period  of  quiet  should  ensue,  and  that  the  rest  of  the  year 
should  present  nothing  that  calls  for  special  mention. 

1892. 

The  year  1892  opened  with  the  death  of  Mr.  Henry  Raiders, 
S.  J.  He  passed  away  at  Santa  Clara,  whither  he  had  gone 
on  the  1 2th  of  the  preceding  December,  in  the  vain  hope  that 
life  might  be  prolonged.  On  January  3rd,  death  came,  and  on 
the  following  morning  the  students  in  their  chapel  attended  a 
mass  sung  for  the  repose  of  his  soul. 

Death  still  continued  to  reap  his  harvest,  and,  on  the  20th 
of  the  month,  the  daily  papers  announced  the  decease  of  Very 
Rev.  Father  Anderledy,  General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  although 
official  information  of  the  fact  did  not  reach  us  until  some  days 
later.  The  Solemn  Mass  for  the  repose  of  his  soul  was  cele- 
brated on  the  18th  of  February,  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop  being 
present,  and  giving  the  last  absolution.  The  decorations  of  the 
church  were  on  the  same  elaborate  scale  as  on  the  occasion  of 
the  death  of  Very  Rev.  Father  Beckx,  his  predecessor,  and, 
while  new,  in  design,  they  were  equally  a  triumph  of  the  decora- 
tor's art. 


3oo  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

But  our  death  record  for  these  early  months  is,  unfortunately, 
not  yet  complete.  On  February  7th,  Father  Joseph  Bayma,  the 
fourth  president  of  St.  Ignatius  College,  passed  peacefully  away 
in  Santa  Clara.  He  was  born  near  Turin,  on  November  9th, 
1816,  and  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus  on  February  5th,  1832. 
When  but  seventeen  years  of  age,  he  taught  rhetoric  in  the 
College  of  Nobles,  a  remarkable  tribute  to  his  talent  and  appli- 
cation. Ordained  priest  in  1843,  he  lectured  in  the  Roman  Col- 
lege, and  in  1845  became  Rector  of  the  Seminary  of  Bertinoro 
in  the  Romagna,  lecturing  on  Scripture  at  the  same  time  in 
the  Cathedral  of  the  place.  In  1848,  he  was  driven  to  France 
by  the  revolution,  and  in  1857  passed  over  to  England  as  pro- 
fessor of  philosophy  at  Stonyhurst.  Here  many  of  those  who 
have  become  prominent  in  the  English  Province  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus  studied  under  him,  admiring  at  once  the  simple  straight- 
forwardness of  his  nature  and  the  sublimity  of  his  genius.  It 
was  during  his  stay  in  England  that  he  wrote  his  "Molecular 
Mechanics."  Coming  to  San  Francisco  in  1869,  he  labored  for 
eleven  years  in  St.  Ignatius,  at  first  engaged  in  the  management 
of  affairs,  then  professor  in  the  classroom  and  contributor  to 
magazines.  In  Italian  he  is  said  to  have  been  an  orator;  in 
Latin,  he  was  certainly  a  polished  scholar  and  an  excellent  poet. 
There  was  a  winning  simplicity  in  his  manner,  which  robbed 
his  imposing  form  and  deeply  philosophic  mind  of  anything 
that  savored  of  pride  or  pompousness;  and  when,  during  the 
leisure  hours  of  vacation  at  the  Villa,  he  won  a  game  of  checkers 
or  of  chess,  his  face  would  light  up  with  a  pleasure  which  showed 
the  artlessness  of  the  noble  soul  within.  His  "Study  of  Religious 
Perfection,"  so  similar  in  sweetness  to  the  "Imitation  of  Christ," 
is  the  best  reflex  of  a  life  that  we  all  admired  and  of  a  heart 
that  we  all  loved. 

As  the  Alumni  Society  had  dropped  out  of  the  catalogue 
of  1891,  so  the  Holy  Angels'  Sodality  drops  out  of  that  of  1892. 
The  former  had  disbanded,  owing  to  the  causes,  doubtless,  that 
generally  bring  about  a  decadence  in  such  organizations;  the 
latter,  because  the  college  was  endeavoring,  little  by  little,  to 
restrict  itself  to  older  pupils.  In  the  present  year,  Father  Edward 
Allen  on  August  10th,  became  Minister  in  place  of  Father 
Jeremiah  Collins,  who,  with    Fathers    Thomas    Leonard,  John 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        301 

D'Aponte,  Vincent  Chiappa,  Michael  Shallo  and  Mr.  Joseph 
De  Rop,  S.  ].,  went  to  Santa  Clara.  Father  James  O'Sullivan 
had  gone  thither  earlier  in  the  year.  Father  Joseph  Dossola 
was  again  vice-president,  replacing  Father  Chiappa.  The 
other  new  members  of  the  faculty  were  Father  Dionysius 
Mahony,  and  Messrs.  James  Malone,  John  Volio,  Edmund 
Gerlach  and  Lawrence  Casserly,  S.  J.  Father  Aloysius  Jacquet 
assisted  in  the  ministry.  Mr.  John  Volio,  S.  J.,  taught  until 
October  18th  only,  on  which  date  he  started  for  Spain  to 
pursue  his  course  of  theology.  He  was  replaced  by  Mr.  Henry 
Gabriel,  S.  J.  Messrs.  Casserly  and  Gerlach  were  to  be  called 
to  heaven  before  the  school  year  was  over,  the  latter  on  the 
nth  of  the  following  April  in  St.  Ignatius,  and  the  former  in 
Santa  Clara  on  the  31st  of  May.  Mr.  Pascal  Bellefroid,  S.  J., 
came  from  Santa  Clara  to  take  the  classes  of  Mr.  Gerlach. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year,  Father  Varsi  had  found  himself 
in  a  position  to  carry  out  a  project  which  he  had  long  in  mind. 
It  was  the  furnishing  of  the  church  with  rich  ostensoria,  tributes 
of  his  own  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament  and  of  that  of 
his  friends.  Quietly  and  without  ostentation,  many  of  these 
had,  at  various  times,  handed  over  to  him  their  jewels  and 
trinkets,  offering  gladly  for  the  service  of  the  altar  what  they 
had  much  prized.  For  the  execution  of  his  design  he  sought 
those  whom  he  considered  the  very  best  goldsmiths  in  Paris, 
the  firm  of  Poussielgue-Rusand  Fils,  in  whose  honesty  and 
artistic  taste  he  might  well  confide.  That  he  planned  two 
ostensoria  is  clearly  contained  in  the  earlier  letters  of  the 
firm  on  the  subject.  "When  will  you  send  us  the  jewels  for 
the  ostensoria?"  they  ask.  "We  have  not  yet  received  them. 
We  intend  to  participate  in  the  Exposition  at  Chicago  next 
year,  and  if  you  consent  to  order  us  to  make  a  beautiful  osten- 
sorium  on  which  your  jewels  will  be  mounted,  we  shall  make 
every  effort  to  produce  one  of  superb  workmanship  on  condi- 
tion that  you  will  permit  it  to  figure  in  our  exhibit.  The  work 
will  be  with  us  a  question  of  art,  not  of  mere  business." 

The  offer  was  too  tempting  to  be  refused,  for  a  personal 
interest  was  assured  which  money  cannot  purchase.  It  was 
decided  to  have  one  ostensorium  only,  but  that  such  as  would 
be  worthy  of  a  world's  exposition.    Although  negotiations  had 


3o2  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

begun  with  the  year's  beginning,  the  jewels  and  design  were 
not  sent  until  December,  for  a  letter  of  January  27th,  1893, 
acknowledges  the  receipt  of  both.  "The  design  is  well  made," 
says  the  letter,  "and  in  the  sketch  which  we  shall  have  the 
honor  of  submitting  to  you,  we  shall  adopt  many  of  the  ideas 
expressed  in  it."  A  month  later  the  correspondent  of  the  firm 
is  excusing  delay  in  the  forwarding  of  the  sketch.  A  piece 
of  goldwork  of  the  importance  of  your  ostensorium  calls  for 
much  thought  when  one  would  obtain  the  best  results,"  he 
says,  "  .  .  .  .  but  having  made  sketch  after  sketch,  we 
have  decided  on  the  one  which  we  send  you."  This  with 
various  modifications  was  finally  accepted,  and  word  was  cabled 
to  begin  at  once.  Meanwhile  the  firm  of  Poussielgue-Rusand  Fils 
had  determined  not  to  take  part  in  the  Chicago  Exposition 
and  considered  it  only  right  to  manifest  their  decision  to  Father 
Varsi.  The  reasons  were  certainly  good  and  such  as  Father 
Varsi  would  approve;  but  lest  he  might  fear  that  the  work 
would  suffer  on  this  account,  the  assurance  is  given  that  "as 
regards  the  workmanship,  it  will  be  as  carefully  attended  to 
as  if  this  ostensorium  were  to  have  a  place  at  the  Exposition. 
Our  earnest  desires  for  your  welfare,  our  professional  pride  as 
jewelers,  our  interests  well  understood,  are  securities."  Father 
Varsi  was  anxious  to  use  the  ostensorium  on  the  Feast  of 
Christmas,  and  hopes  were  given  him  that  his  wishes  would  be 
gratified.  As  the  year,  however,  wore  on,  the  fact  became 
evident  that  more  time  would  be  required;  so  that  it  was  only 
with  the  end  of  February,  1894,  that  the  monstrance  was  com- 
pleted. 

Having  won  the  admiration  of  such  as  were  fortunate 
enough  to  view  it,  it  left  Paris  on  its  way  to  the  Pacific  Coast, 
so  that  voicing  the  comments  of  competent  and  disinterested 
parties,  the  firm  could  say  with  honest  pride,  "Truly  we  think 
that  our  work  is  a  success."  Our  readers  will  judge  from  the 
accompanying  half-tone  how  far  they  were  right. 

Meanwhile,  another  project  of  the  greatest  utility  to  the 
church  had  been  conceived  and  executed.  It  was  a  new  sacristy. 
When  the  church  was  built,  Father  Varsi  had  thought  that  he 
had  made  liberal    provision  for  storing  the  ornaments  of    the 


THE  MONSTRANCE 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        303 

altars  and  affording  room  to  the  clergy  when  vesting  for  the 
various  sacred  functions.  Time,  however,  had  shown  that  more 
space  was  needed.  The  ladies  in  charge  of  the  several  altars, 
had  been  more  than  generous  in  supplying  flowers,  and  vases, 
and  candelabra,  and  whatsoever  else  could  add  beauty  on  the 
different  festivals ;  and  the  long  train  of  acolytes,  combined  with 
the  clergy  on  more  solemn  occasions,  filled  to  overcrowding  the 
existing  sacristies.  Whose  generous  hand  supplied  the  needed 
funds  is  too  well  known  to  require  explicit  mention;  the  new 
gift  was  merely  the  increasing  of  benefactions  which  were  still 
to  grow. 

1893. 
Towards  the  end  of  1892,  Father  Edward  Allen  succeeded 
in  substituting  a  male  choir  for  the  mixed  one  that  had  hitherto 
sung  in  the  church.  He  entered  into  the  matter  with  his  usual 
energy,  and  on  the  evening  of  January  8th,  1893,  the  choir 
duly  organized  made  a  very  favorable  impression  by  its  first 
efforts.  For  a  couple  of  months,  not  to  overtax  it,  only  the 
evening  services  were  confided  to  it;  but  after  the  lapse  of 
these,  it  supplied  all  the  vocal  music  in  the  church.  Its  mem- 
bership in  time  grew  to  be  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  with 
an  ordinary  attendance  of  from  eighty  to  one  hundred.  There 
were  about  forty  first  tenors,  thirty  second  tenors,  thirty  first 
and  thirty  second  basses.  About  one  hundred  college  boys 
assisted  the  choir  on  certain  special  occasions,  and  a  voluntary 
orchestra  of  some  forty  pieces  accompanied  it.  The  choir 
existed  for  several  years,  until  the  health  of  Father  Allen  having 
failed,  the  choir  disintegrated  for  lack  of  a  director. 

On  March  7th,  the  Catholic  Educational  Exhibit  opened 
in  the  Mechanics'  Pavilion,  that  the  public  might  see  the  class 
of  work  done  in  Catholic  schools  and  colleges.  Among  the 
other  exhibits  made  by  St.  Ignatius  was  that  of  its  physical 
cabinet;  and  to  show  the  apparatus  in  actual  operation,  Mr. 
Thomas  Hickey  of  the  graduating  class,  lectured  on  "The 
Atmosphere,  Its  Principal  Properties  and  Composition."  The 
lecture  was  illustrated  by  experiments.  Robert  Hicks,  Satur- 
nino  Gonzalez,  Benj.  McKinley  and  Charles  Sweigert  assisted 
the  lecturer.    The  work  of  St.  Ignatius  in  the  field  of  education 


304  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

was  much  appreciated,  and  the  efforts  of  Father  Sasia,  to  whom 
the  management  of  the  college  exhibit  had  been  entrusted, 
were  highly  commended. 

On  the  Feast  of  the  Patronage  of  St.  Joseph,  April  23rd, 
Father  Henry  Imoda,  while  continuing  Superior  of  the  Cali- 
fornian  Mission,  turned  the  government  of  the  college  over 
to  Father  Edward  Allen,  as  president,  Father  Dionysius 
Mahony  becoming  Minister.  A  little  over  a  month  later,  as 
Father  Imoda  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  college  could  sup- 
port itself  without  the  charging  of  fees,  he  wished  that  the 
students  of  the  classical  course  should  be  exempt  from  charges 
for  tuition.  His  wish  was  accordingly  carried  out,  and  on 
May  29th  the  announcement  was  made,  that  henceforth  no 
tuition  fees  would  be  charged  in  the  college  course.  The 
closing  exercises  were  held  on  June  7th,  and  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Science  was  given  for  the  last  time.  From  this 
day  forward,  in  compliance  with  the  announcement  already 
made,  classical  degrees  alone  were  to  be  given  in  the  college. 
The  pupils  were  fewer  than  the  preceding  year  and  the  Junior 
Philhistorian  Debating  Society  has  ceased  to  exist. 

On  July  31st,  Father  John  Pinasco,  having  been  relieved  of 
the  presidency  of  Santa  Clara  College,  relieved,  in  turn,  Father 
Joseph  Dossola  of  the  vice-presidency  of  St.  Ignatius;  and  early 
in  August,  Father  Vincent  Testa  became  Minister  in  place  of 
Father  Dionysius  Mahony,  who  was  made  President  of  the 
Jesuit  College  in  San  Jose.  The  additions  to  the  faculty 
were  Fathers  Telesphorus  Demasini,  Joseph  Hickey  and 
Angelo  Coltelli,  S.  J.  Besides  Fathers  Mahony  and  Dossola, 
the  church  and  college  lost  Fathers  John  Sardi,  Henry  Woods, 
Joseph  Neri  and  Joseph  Sasia,  the  last  mentioned  having  been 
called  to  Italy  by  the  Very  Rev.  Ludovico  Martin,  General 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  subsequently  made  Provincial  of 
the  Province  of  Turin,  of  which  Province,  California  is  a 
dependency. 

Father  Joseph  Sasia  was  born  in  Venasca,  Northern  Italy, 
on  April  27th,  1843.  His  classical  studies  were  made  in  Turin 
under  the  celebrated  Professor  Thomas  Vallauri.  Having 
selected  an  ecclesiastical  career  as  his  vocation  in  life,  he  entered 
the  Archiepiscopal  Seminary  of  Turin.     Called  to  the  Society 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        305 

of  Jesus  he  interrupted  his  course  of  studies,  though  soon 
to  have  been  ordained,  and  on  August  14th,  1866,  entered  the 
Novitiate  at  Monaco.  In  1869  he  came  to  California  and, 
having  spent  some  time  in  mastering  English,  taught  in  Santa 
Clara  and  St.  Ignatius  until  1875,  in  which  year  he  went 
to  Woodstock,  Md.,  to  complete  his  theological  course  and 
receive  Holy  Orders.  On  his  return  in  1878,  he  was  appointed 
professor  of  chemistry  in  St.  Ignatius.  Two  years  later,  he 
taught  the  same  branch  in  Santa  Clara  College  and  was  chaplain 
of  the  students. 

In  1882  he  was  again  in  St.  Ignatius,  this  time  as  professor 
of  mental  philosophy.  His  history  from  that  date  to  1893 
has  been  told  in  the  preceding  pages.  He  will  spend  six  years 
in  Italy,  mainly  as  Provincial  of  the  Turin  Province,  then  come 
back  to  California  in  1899,  and  to  San  Francisco  in  1904,  to  be 
with  us  in  the  celebration  of  the  golden  jubilee.     But  to  return. 

On  July  5th,  Archbishop  Satolli,  accompanied  by  Arch- 
bishop Riordan,  Bishop  Grace  and  Dr.  O'Gorman,  paid  a  visit 
to  the  college.  As  it  was  vacation  time,  there  was  no  formal 
reception.  His  Grace,  however,  departed  much  pleased  at  find- 
ing, on  the  Pacific  Coast,  a  church  and  college  so  beautiful  and 
so  thoroughly  equipped.  The  month  of  August  presents  two 
matters  worthy  of  note.  On  the  26th,  His  Grace,  Archbishop 
Riordan,  requested  the  Superior  of  the  Californian  Mission  to 
interest  himself  in  obtaining  a  Father  to  take  care  of  the  Poles 
in  the  city.  Father  Imoda  promised  to  do  all  in  his  power,  and 
transmitted  the  request  to  Very  Rev.  Father  Martin.  The 
28th  witnessed  a  very  pretty  ceremony.  Mrs.  Coleman,  a  lady 
of  well-known  piety  and  generosity,  had  presented  a  beautiful 
statue  of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes  as  an  ornament  for  the  vestibule 
of  the  church.  Its  blessing  took  place  in  the  presence  of  the 
whole  community,  all  admiring  the  taste  and  piety  of  the  donor. 

The  health  of  Father  Allen  had  for  some  time  suffered 
severely  under  the  strain  of  his  many  occupations  and  the  doc- 
tors considered  a  change  and  rest  indispensable.  About  the 
middle  of  September,  therefore,  he  left  for  Seattle  and  the 
Northern  Missions,  returning  from  Spokane  on  the  vigil  of 
the  Feast  of  St.   Francis  Xavier.     Meanwhile  in   November, 


3o6  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Bishop  Healy  once  more  had  paid  us  a  visit,  but  this  time  shorter 
than  usual,  for  his  health  was  very  poor,  and  he  hastened  on 
to  the  sanitarium  in  San  Jose. 

1894. 

The  year  1894  opened  with  the  appointment  of  Rev.  Joseph 
Sasia  as  Provincial  of  the  Turin  Province.  He  entered  upon 
his  duties  on  January  14th,  though  the  news  reached  California 
on  the  27th.  The  Fathers  of  St.  Ignatius  might  well  trust  that 
their  interests  would  be  carefully  looked  after  by  one  who,  as 
president  of  the  college  and  Superior  of  the  Mission,  had  been 
in  a  position  to  know  their  interests  so  well. 

Somewhat  earlier,  the  following  notice  had  appeared :  "We 
fear  that  many  Catholics  in  this  city  and  State  are  not  aware 
that,  following  the  rule  of  their  founder,  where  it  is  possi- 
ble to  do  so,  the  Jesuit  Fathers  have  made  of  St.  Ignatius 
College  a  free  college,  in  all  that  pertains  to  superior 
education,  classical  and  ordinary.  To  all  young  men  of  good 
character,  the  Society  of  Jesus  will  give  education  absolutely 
gratuitous,  not  an  ordinary  education  but  a  superior  education 
comprising  classics,  mathematics,  science,  philosophy  and  all 
cognate  matters.  To  those  who  do  not  desire  a  classical  educa- 
tion, the  ordinary  commercial  branches  will  be  taught.  Any 
young  man  who  may  desire  to  acquire  knowledge  in  its  fullest 
sense,  to  prepare  for  the  professions,  for  a  full  university  course, 
has  here  an  opportunity  which  few  in  this  country  possess.  San 
Francisco  is,  we  believe,  the  only  city  in  the  United  States 
which  is  so  blessed,  and  our  young  men  ought  to  take  advan- 
tage of  this  splendid  opportunity  offered  them.  In  this  respect, 
the  rich  have  no  advantage  over  the  poor,  since  no  other  condi- 
tion is  required  than  a  good  character  and  a  determination 
to  study." 

Church  and  college  were  active,  each  in  doing  its  allotted 
work.  Had  any  one  been  skeptical  concerning  the  popularity  of 
the  confessors  in  the  church,  a  visit  to  the  sacred  edifice  on 
Holy  Saturday,  March  24th,  would  have  dispelled  every  doubt. 
All  the  afternoon  and  even  beyond  midnight,  many  of  the 
Fathers  were  engaged  in  their  mission  of  mercy,  some  spending 
eleven  hours  in  the  confessional. 


FATHER  EDWARD  ALLEN,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         307 

Still,  not  all  the  stray  sheep  are  gathered  in  by  the  warning 
voice  of  Easter,  and  it  was  thought  well  to  give  the  congrega- 
tion the  benefit  of  a  formal  mission.  Fathers  Henry  Moeller 
and  Hugh  Finnegan  of  the  Missouri  Province,  were  invited  to 
give  it.  They  reached  San  Francisco  on  May  4th,  and  two 
days  later  opened  the  week  for  men.  No  better  success  could 
have  been  desired.  The  fire  and  eloquence  of  Father  Moeller, 
the  plain  and  earnest  simplicity  of  the  instructions  of  Father 
Finnegan,  suited  admirably  the  varied  tastes  of  the  congre- 
gation, and  produced  the  desired  fruit. 

The  catalogue  of  this  year  is  a  vast  improvement  on  its 
predecessors,  and  maps  out  clearly  the  amount  of  matter  to  be 
mastered  in  each  class.  The  courses  are  three,  Philosophic, 
Classical  and  Preparatory;  or,  if  you  wish,  these  are  three  parts 
of  the  same  course  leading  to  a  classical  degree.  For  A.  M. 
three  years  of  philosophy  and  of  the  natural  sciences  are 
required;  for  A.  B.,  two.  The  number  of  students  shows  a  nota- 
ble increase,  for  whereas  in  the  preceding  year  it  was  540,  this 
year  it  is  745.  As  the  course  had  in  no  way  been  modified, 
the  better  attendance  was  quite  a  compliment  to  the  manage- 
ment of  Father  Allen.  We  are  happy  to  note  also  the  reappear- 
ance of  the  Holy  Angels'  Sodality  under  the  direction  of  Rev. 
Joseph  Hickey,  who  began  here  a  work  of  zeal  which,  years 
afterwards,  in  the  broader  sphere  of  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality, 
was  to  make  his  name  revered  and  loved  in  many  a  household. 

The  staff  lost  several  valuable  members  this  year  and 
acquired  others.  Father  Vincent  Testa  went  to  Santa  Clara 
and  was  replaced  as  Minister  by  Father  Bartholomew  Calzia. 
Mr.  Richard  Bell  went  to  Italy  and  Mr.  James  Malone  to  Los 
Gatos.  Fathers  Henry  Woods  and  John  Sardi,  Messrs.  Maurice 
Joy,  Joseph  Lydon,  William  Boland  and  Salvator  Giglio,  S.  J., 
took  up  the  work  of  church  and  college.  Father  Stanislas 
Kusiacki,  S.  J.,  a  Polish  Jesuit,  had  arrived  on  May  24th  in 
response  to  the  request  of  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop;  and  later 
in  the  year,  on  November  15th,  Father  Joseph  Guidi  came  from 
the  Rocky  Mountain  Missions  to  help  in  the  work  of  the 
sacred  ministry. 

The  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  which  had  flour- 
ished under  Father  Florence  Sullivan  in  the  form  of  the  Apos- 


3o8  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

tleship  of  Prayer,  was  destined,  as  the  League  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  to  receive  an  infusion  of  new  life  under  the  direction  of 
Father  Henry  Woods.  On  the  14th  of  October,  the  promoters 
were  organized,  and  thenceforward  progress  was  still  more 
solid  and  rapid.  Was  this,  perhaps,  one  of  the  reasons  why 
the  college  annalist  wonders  at  the  immense  number  of  com- 
munions on  the  following  Christmas?  No  one  is  ignorant  of 
the  close  connection  existing  between  devotion  to  the  Sacred 
Heart  and  to  the  Divine  Sacrament;  nor  can  any  one  doubt 
that  of  the  4,000  communicants  who,  on  the  feast,  approached 
the  sacred  table  in  St.  Ignatius,  a  large,  and  very  large  propor- 
tion belonged  to  the  League. 

1895. 

Several  of  the  months  of  1895  slipped  away  unnoticed  in  the 
usual  routine  of  church  and  college,  not  so,  however,  April. 
On  the  8th  of  the  month,  the  body  of  a  dear  friend  who  has 
more  than  once  been  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  the  college, 
Mr.  Joseph  Donohoe,  was  borne  into  the  church  to  have  the 
last  sad  rites  performed  over  it.  The  mass  was  celebrated  by 
His  Grace,  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop,  and  the  sermon  was 
preached  by  Father  Peter  Yorke.  Everything  was  extremely 
simple  and  suggestive  of  a  depth  of  sorrow  that  nothing  can 
express.  It  was  Monday  in  Holy  Week,  and  all  who  knew 
the  true  Christian  character  of  the  deceased  felt  that  he  had 
kept  the  Feast  of  Palms  in  heaven,  in  recompense  of  the  many 
deeds  of  unassuming  charity  which  he  had  performed  on  earth. 

On  May  20th,  ex-Governor  Peter  Burnett,  another  friend 
whose  love  for  St.  Ignatius  long  years  had  proved,  rested  peace- 
fully in  his  casket  before  the  altar  at  which,  in  life,  he  had  so 
often  worshiped.  Governor  James  Budd,  attended  by  his  staff, 
was  present  at  the  mass  which  Father  Coltelli  celebrated, 
assisted  by  Father  Ryan  of  St.  Bridget's,  deacon,  and  Father 
Prelato,  subdeacon.  Father  John  Cottle,  his  parish  priest, 
delivered  the  sermon.  The  Gentlemen's  Sodality,  of  which 
the  deceased  had  been  a  most  faithful  member,  were  present 
in  large  numbers;  and  a  vast  congregation,  filling  the  church 
from  the  railing  to  the  doors,  testified  the  esteem  which  the 
city  felt  for  this  man  of  quiet  but  deep  piety  who  could  say 


OUR  LADY  OF   LOURDES 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        309 

with  the  Apostle,  "I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel."  He  had 
confessed  and  defended  his  faith  eloquently  by  word  and  pen. 
Having  spent  his  years  in  well-doing,  he  had  entered  into  the 
joy  of  his  Master. 

Another  misfortune,  though  not  so  immediately  affecting 
St.  Ignatius  as  the  deaths  just  recorded,  calls  for  mention  before 
passing  on  to  a  more  pleasant  theme.  It  is  the  burning  of  the 
old  chapel  at  the  Presidio  on  June  19th.  The  loss  was  a  severe 
blow  to  Father  Prelato,  who  had  labored  hard  to  render  the 
old  ordnance  attic  a  place  sufficiently  decent  for  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Divine  Mysteries;  but  his  trust  in  St.  Joseph  and  St. 
Joseph's  friends  was  in  nowise  diminished,  and,  little  by  little, 
he  has  been  able  to  fit  up  and  adorn  the  present  chapel. 

The  23rd  of  June  was  a  day  of  festivity  in  St.  Ignatius,  for 
on  that  day  the  Feast  of  St.  Aloysius  was  solemnized  in  the 
church,  and  Father  Aloysius  Varsi  celebrated  the  50th  year  of 
his  religious  life  as  a  Jesuit.  The  actual  day  of  his  entrance  into 
the  Order  had  been  May  2nd,  but  it  was  thought  more  fitting 
to  celebrate  the  event  on  his  patronal  feast.  Aloysius  Varsi, 
Aloysius  Raggio  and  Aloysius  Jacquet  were  respectively  Cele- 
brant, deacon  and  sub-deacon,  at  the  Solemn  Mass.  Rev. 
Father  Kenna,  who  had  been  a  pupil  in  Santa  Clara  under 
Father  Varsi,  delivered  the  sermon.  A  reception  in  the  after- 
noon, and  in  the  evening  Solemn  Vespers  followed  by  Solemn 
Benediction,  at  which  Father  Varsi  was  Celebrant,  brought  the 
festivities  to  an  end. 

"The  sunlight  streaming  half  way  down  the  aisles  of  St. 
Ignatius,  yesterday,"  says  the  account  published  the  day  after 
the  occasion,  "met  and  mingled  with  the  hundreds  of  candles  on 
the  splendidly  decorated  altar,  and  the  candles  themselves 
burned  golden,  harmonizing  with  all  the  other  accessories  of 

the  golden  jubilee  of  Father  Varsi The  vestments 

worn  by  Father  Varsi  and  his  assistants  were  gorgeous  in  the 
extreme.  They  had  been  worn  only  once  before.  They  were 
of  yellow  satin,  heavily  embroidered  in  gold  thread.  Every- 
thing about  the  altar  was  golden,  in  compliment  to  this  fiftieth 
anniversary." 


3io  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

"The  afternoon  celebration,"  writes  the  same  pen,  "was  held 
in  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  Chapel.  It  was  crowded  with  invited 
guests,  and,  as  Father  Varsi  entered,  an  orchestra  struck  up  a 
march  and  all  stood  until  the  Father  had  taken  his  seat.  Hon. 
J.  F.  Sullivan  then  made  an  address,  in  which  delicate  compli- 
ments to  the  Father's  abilities  were  interwoven  with  loving 
tributes  to  the  Jesuit  Order.  This  grand  structure  shall  stand 
as  a  monument  to  you  through  the  years  to  come,'  he  said,  in 
conclusion,  'but  another,  a  grander  monument  you  have  reared 
for  yourself  in  the  hearts  of  your  grateful  fellow  citizens,  who 
have  been  the  beneficiaries  of  your  untiring  labors. 

Gratified  for  your  services  in  the  past,  we  are  selfish  enough 
to  hope  that  many  years  more  of  your  kindly  and  faithful  min- 
istrations will  be  spent  in  our  midst.  Whatever  of  tribute  we 
render  you  to-day,  can  but  feebly  represent  the  affectionate  regard 
we  entertain  for  you.  In  our  poverty  of  speech,  we  appropriate 
the  language  addressed  by  the  poet  priest,  Father  Ryan,  to  a  vet- 
eran of  your  Order  after  fifty  years  of  priestly  service.     .     .     .' 

During  the  address,  Father  Varsi  was  visibly  moved,  as  were 
the  audience.  At  its  conclusion,  Mrs.  Loughborough  presented 
Father  Varsi  with  a  huge  basket  of  long-stemmed  yellow  roses. 
Upon  the  handle  of  the  basket  was  tied  a  small  folded  paper. 
When  Father  Varsi  rose  to  make  his  reply  there  was  a  storm  of 
applause.  Two  or  three  times  he  essayed  to  speak,  but  there 
were  tears  in  his  voice  and  in  his  eyes.    At  length  he  said : 

Tt  is  just  fifty  years  since  there  was  put  into  my  hands  a 
little  book,  upon  the  same  night  that  I  entered  the  novitiate  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus.  I  opened  the  book,  and  the  first  words  I 
read  were,  'Spiritual  Exercises  to  Conquer  Oneself.'  In  these 
fifty  years  I  have  read  over  those  words  many  hundred  times, 
and  yet,  in  these  years  of  labor,  I  have  not  learned  to  conquer 
myself  to-day. 

I  have  no  set  speech  to  make  you.  I  am  not  an  orator.  I 
envy  those  who  are.  But  I  feel,  my  dear  friends,  the  honor  you 
have  shown  me  to-day ;  and  for  the  love  and  sympathy  you  have 
manifested,  I  thank  you. 

Only  a  few  moments  ago  the  gentleman  by  my  side  said: 
'You  must  be  happy  to-day.'     Yes,  I  do  feel  very  happy — happy 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         311 

for  my  years  in  religion,  and  happy  to  have  met  you  all.  I  am 
happy  to  have  been  for  fifty  years  an  humble  man  in  the  Society 
of  Jesus :  I  am  not  the  great  man  they  are  trying  to  make  me 
out,  but  I  am  a  child  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  I  love  the 
Society  as  a  child  does  a  mother,  because  it  has  been  a  mother 
to  me.  All  the  honor  of  this  day  is  not  for  the  humble  person- 
ality of  Father  Varsi,  but  for  the  honor  of  the  Jesuits.  I  am 
glad  that  God  has  allowed  me  to  wear  the  black  cassock  for 
fifty  years,  and  I  hope  to  God  that  I  shall  die  in  it.  For  the 
honor  to  the  Society :  I  thank  you. 

To  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  I  would  say,  'I  am  much 
obliged  to  you,  but  don't  praise  me  so  much.' 

Then  the  good  Father  thanked  Mrs.  Loughborough  for  the 
flowers,  and  looked  at  the  beautiful  book  in  which  the  address 
was  engrossed,  which  had  been  presented  to  him.  He  unrolled 
the  bit  of  paper  attached  to  the  handle  of  the  basket,  and  handed 
it  to  Father  Allen  to  read;  it  was  a  check  for  $5,000. 

Though  we  are  celebrating  this  as  the  day  of  my  Golden 
Jubilee,'  he  said,  'it  is  not  the  real  day.  The  day  when  I  turned 
my  back  upon  the  world  was  May  2nd.  Some  friends,  knowing 
the  day,  made  offerings  that  would  contribute  to  the  beauty  of 
the  church.  That  is  my  weak  point.  Among  these  gifts  was  a 
check  for  $50,000  for  a  grand  new  organ  and  a  choir  fund. 
After  this  I  can  think  of  nothing  to  make  our  church  better — 
not  that  it  is  good  enough  for  God,  nothing  can  be  that — but 
it  is  as  good  as  we  can  make  it.  I  want  you  to  join  me  in 
thanking  the  generous  donor,  who  has  done  much  for  the  church. 
My  prayers  are  all  for  you.  To-day  the  mass  was  for  you. 
To-night  the  blessing  will  be  for  you.  I  pray  that  God  may  bless 
both  you  and  yours,  and  that,  at  last,  we  shall  all  go  to  heaven, 
where  we  shall  celebrate  the  real  Golden  Jubilee !     . 

The  donor  of  the  $50,000  check,  which  will  build  a  beautiful 
organ  for  St.  Ignatius,  is  Mrs.  Andrew  Welch. 

In  the  evening  there  was  special  vesper  service.  Father 
Varsi,  though  fatigued  by  the  high  mass  and  the  reception  of 
the  day,  was  again  the  Celebrant. 

The  illumination  of  the  altars  and  church  was  extremely 
beautiful.    There  was  no  daylight  for  the  tapers  to  struggle  with. 


3i2  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Hundreds  of  additional  candles  and  candelabra  had  been  taken 
from  the  other  chapels  in  the  building.  Every  altar  was  ablaze. 
On  every  pillar  down  the  long  transept,  a  shield  bearing  the 
motto,  'I.  H.  S.'  and  a  bunch  of  candles  had  been  placed.  These 
were  all  illuminated.  Above  the  altar  were  clusters  of  candles 
with  golden  fairy  lamps  beneath  them.  All  the  gas  globes  in 
the  church  had  been  replaced  by  yellow  ones,  and  the  light  fil- 
tered golden  through  them.  Around  the  gallery,  hundreds  of 
yellow  fairy  lamps  had  been  placed,  and  these  added  their  tips 
of  flame  to  the  glory  of  the  Golden  Jubilee. 

When  the  services  were  over  and  the  lights  out,  St.  Ignatius 
had  closed  the  most  gorgeous  gala  day  in  its  history,  and  the 
feast  of  St.  Aloysius  and  the  Golden  Jubilee  of  his  namesake, 
who  is  regarded  by  his  friends  as  little  less  than  a  saint,  was 
over." 

In  the  apportionment  of  places,  Father  Aloysius  Jacquet  and 
Messrs.  Maurice  Joy  and  Salvator  Giglio  were  sent  to  San  Jose ; 
Mr.  Joseph  Lydon  to  Los  Gatos;  Father  Joseph  Guidi  returned 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  Father  Stanilas  Kusiacki  had  long  since 
returned  to  Poland.  Father  Joseph  Treca  had  come  from  Alaska, 
and  a  little  later  Father  Gregory  Leggio  came  back  from  Denver. 
Father  Caesar  Barchi  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  year  with  us 
on  account  of  ill  health,  though  belonging  to  the  community  of 
San  Jose.  Messrs.  John  Hayes,  James  Hayes,  Thomas  Hogan 
and  Aloysius  Ruth,  S.  J.,  became  members  of  the  faculty.  Mr. 
Pascal  Bellefroid,  in  early  January,  had  gone  to  Santa  Clara  to 
teach,  and  had  been  replaced  by  Mr.  James  Morissey;  on  April 
17th,  Messrs.  Morissey  and  Bellefroid  once  more  exchanged 
places,  the  latter  returning  hither  and  the  former  going  to  Santa 
Clara;  the  present  August  found  both  of  them  members  of  the 
staff  of  St.  Ignatius.  In  September,  Mr.  Henry  Gabriel,  S.  J., 
departed  for  Rome. 

During  the  autumn,  assistance  equally  generous  and  sponta- 
neous, allowed  Father  Varsi  to  complete  the  fagade  of  the 
church  by  the  erection  of  the  statue  of  St.  Ignatius.  Having 
had  experience  of  the  skill  of  the  firm  of  Poussielgue-Rusand 
Fils  in  the  making  of  the  ostensorium,  he  turned  to  it,  inquir- 
ing whether  it  could  cast  an  heroic  statue  of  St.  Ignatius.     An 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        313 

affirmative  answer  was  immediately  returned,  and,  on  Sep- 
tember 19th,  a  model  was  on  its  way  to  San  Francisco.  The 
statue  was  to  be  of  bronze,  some  eleven  feet  high,  and  to  weigh 
over  a  ton  and  a  half.  Father  Varsi  could  not  help  admiring 
the  artistic  merits  of  the  model,  for  it  represented  St.  Ignatius 
as  he  appears  in  historic  paintings  possessed  by  the  Society  of 
Jesus.  About  the  middle  of  1896,  Mr.  Benet,  the  artist,  was 
engaged  in  the  necessary  preparations,  but  it  was  not  until  June 
29th,  1897,  that  the  statue  started  on  its  journey  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. Shortly  after  its  arrival,  it  was  lifted  to  its  place,  midway 
between  the  two  towers  of  the  church,  where  it  stands,  a  beautiful 
example  of  Christian  art. 

For  many  months  the  health  of  Father  Joseph  Dossola  had 
been  failing,  and  intense  suffering,  at  times  almost  unbearable, 
had  made  life  a  martyrdom.  He  had  been  stationed  at  Santa 
Clara  since  leaving  St.  Ignatius,  but  now  he  was  obliged  to 
return  to  the  city,  and  take  up  his  abode  at  St.  Joseph's  Hos- 
pital. An  operation  was  deemed  absolutely  necessary,  but  it  was 
found  that  even  so,  nothing  could  be  done  to  save  him.  On 
November  21st,  he  received  the  last  sacraments  from  his  old 
friend,  Father  Leggio,  and  on  the  24th  he  died.  He  had  been 
vice-president  of  St.  Ignatius  from  1881  to  1883;  in  1886,  and 
again  in  1892.  The  history  of  the  year  thus  began  and  ended 
in  death. 

1896. 

The  year  1896  found  the  League  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  thanks 
to  the  energy  and  zeal  of  Father  Henry  Woods,  in  a  most  flour- 
ishing condition.  Bands  were  being  rapidly  formed,  and  the 
organization  was  reaching  out  on  every  side;  for  devotion  to 
the  Heart  of  Jesus  is  one  that  cannot  but  appeal  to  generous 
souls.  But  he  needed  helpers,  and  helpers  proportionate  to  the 
great  work  that  was  spreading  out  before  him.  On  the  6th  of 
January,  therefore,  in  a  solemn  reception,  he  added  one  hundred 
more  promoters  to  those  that  had  already  joined  him  in  his  work 
of  zeal,  which  had  and  has  for  its  object,  the  spreading  of  the 
spiritual  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  hearts  of  men. 

The  health  of  Father  Henry  Imoda,  Superior  of  the  Cali- 
fornian  Mission,  had  for  some  time  been  unsatisfactory.    Father 


3i4  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

John  Pinasco,  too,  had  already  broken  down,  the  result  of  a 
severe  cold,  the  effects  of  which  had  never  left  him.  On  October 
7th,  1895,  he  had  gone  to  Los  Gatos  in  the  hope  that  the  lighter, 
warmer  air  of  the  foothills  might  bring  relief,  as  in  fact  it  did; 
for  just  a  month  later  he  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  resumed 
the  duties  of  vice-president  on  the  following  day.  It  was,  how- 
ever, a  respite  from  suffering,  not  a  cure,  for  his  malady  was 
developing  into  a  serious  affection  of  the  lungs.  He  was  soon 
obliged  to  return  permanently  to  Los  Gatos,  where  he  filled  the 
office  of  Minister  until  his  death.  The  college  catalogue  of  the 
year  gives  us  the  name  of  Father  Pinasco  as  vice-president,  but 
this  was  rather  a  matter  of  courtesy  than  anything  else,  for 
he  had  retired  from  the  active  duties  of  the  office  in  the  preceding 
December. 

On  February  17th,  the  faculty  and  pupils  tendered  Father 
Peter  Yorke,  in  the  form  of  a  simple  reception,  a  slight  token 
of  the  high  appreciation  in  which  they  held  his  defense  of  Catho- 
lic doctrine  in  his  controversy  with  its  enemies.  The  greeting 
was  sincere  and  hearty,  for  the  cause  in  which  Father  Yorke  had 
battled  had  justly  made  him  the  hero  of  the  hour.  Receiving 
kindly  their  expressions  of  good  will,  the  Father  answered  pleas- 
antly, in  one  of  those  happy  speeches  for  which  he  is  well 
known,  and  left  a  deep  impression  on  the  minds  of  his  auditors. 

The  health  of  Father  Imoda,  far  from  improving  as  weeks 
went  by,  was  constantly  on  the  decline;  and  hence,  on  March 
2 1  st,  he  judged  it  expedient  to  name  a  substitute  in  the  person 
of  Father  Telesphorus  Demasini,  who,  later,  departed  for  Rome 
on  business  connected  with  the  Mission. 

The  changes  this  year,  at  the  ordinary  time  of  changes,  were 
similar  to  those  of  other  years.  Father  John  Pinasco  was  already 
at  Los  Gatos,  and  Father  Allen  continued  to  fill  the  duties  of 
vice-president,  as  he  had  done  for  a  great  part  of  the  preceding 
school  year.  Father  Joseph  Treca  returned  to  Alaska.  Father 
Pascal  Bellefroid,  who  had  been  ordained  priest  in  Santa  Clara 
on  July  17th,  went  with  Mr.  William  Boland,  S.  J.,  to  Los 
Gatos.  Father  Gregory  Leggio  had,  on  February  10th,  left  for 
the  Northern  Missions.  The  new  members  of  the  faculty  were 
Messrs.    Henry    Whittle,    Cornelius    Buckley,    Charles    Carroll, 


STATUE  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         315 

James  Malone,  and  Joseph  Lydon,  S.  J.  Father  Demasini 
rejoined  the  community  on  October  28th,  bringing  with  him 
from  Italy  Mr.  Octavius  Villa,  S.  J. 

Before  the  return  of  Father  Demasini,  the  career  of  the  old 
organ  in  the  church  had  come  to  an  end.  On  the  6th  of  Septem- 
ber it  was  heard  for  the  last  time.  With  a  "Magnificat"  and  a 
"Tantum  Ergo"  its  notes  ceased  to  vibrate  in  the  sacred  edifice, 
and  like  an  old  and  faithful  servant,  but  one  that  had  passed 
beyond  his  time,  it  had  to  give  up  its  place  to  another.  By  the 
1 6th  of  the  month  it  had  been  taken  down,  and  work  on  the 
organ  loft  had  begun.  When  the  church  was  first  built,  there 
were  two  galleries  over  the  entrance,  one,  the  present  organ 
gallery,  which  was  then  open  to  the  congregation,  and  another 
above  it  for  the  organ  and  the  choir.  In  the  new  arrangement, 
the  upper  gallery  was  removed  and  the  lower  one  improved  and 
embellished. 

While  all  this,  which  Father  Varsi  considered  the  comple- 
tion of  the  church,  was  in  progress,  Father  John  P.  Frieden, 
who  had  filled  various  offices  of  importance  in  the  Missouri  Prov- 
ince of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  was  selected  to  replace  Father  Edward 
Allen  as  President  of  St.  Ignatius  College,  and  Father  Henry 
Imoda  as  Superior  of  the  Californian  Mission.  He  reached  San 
Francisco  on  November  19th,  and  two  days  later  entered  upon 
his  double  office,  Father  Allen  remaining  as  vice-president.  The 
administration  of  Father  Allen  had  indeed  been  a  trying  one,  and 
much  credit  is  due  him  for  the  ability  with  which  he  directed 
affairs  during  the  years  of  financial  depression  with  which  we 
are  all  familiar.  The  classes  of  the  college  showed  an  increase 
in  numbers,  the  church  was  well  attended,  and  music  in  all  its 
magnificence  lent  its  charm  to  the  divine  services.  More  could 
not  have  been  expected  considering  the  difficulties  of  the  times; 
few  men,  indeed,  would  have  succeeded  in  effecting  so  much. 

Father  Edward  Allen  was  born  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  on  August 
22nd.  1849.  When  about  three  years  of  age,  his  parents  passed 
over  to  England,  so  that  he  received  his  education  in  the  Jesuit 
College  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  Liverpool.  On  leaving  college,  he 
successfully  followed  a  business  career,  which,  however,  in  spite 
of  all  inducements,  he  abandoned  to  become  a  Jesuit,  at  Roehamp- 
ton,  England,  September  7th,    1876.     Coming  to  California  in 


3i6  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

1877,  he  passed  the  first  few  years  after  arrival  in  the  ordinary 
Jesuit  training,  becoming  a  professor  in  Santa  Clara  College  in 
1879.  Two  years  later  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  philoso- 
phy, returning  to  the  classroom,  this  time  in  St.  Ignatius,  in  1884. 
In  the  following  year  he  departed  for  Woodstock,  Maryland,  to 
enter  upon  his  theological  course;  was  ordained  priest  in  1888 
by  Cardinal  Gibbons,  and  returned  to  California  a  year  after- 
wards to  spend  two  years  in  Santa  Clara  as  spiritual  Father  of 
the  students. 

In  1 89 1,  he  went  to  Spain,  and,  returning  in  1892,  was,  as 
we  have  seen,  first  appointed  Minister  of  St.  Ignatius  College, 
and  then,  on  April  23rd,  1893,  President.  His  further  labors 
for  the  welfare  of  St.  Ignatius,  will  call  for  mention  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages. 

The  advent  of  a  new  Superior  in  no  wise  changed  the  plans 
approved  by  his  predecessors,  and  work  on  the  new  organ  went 
on  energetically,  to  have  the  instrument  in  readiness  for  the  com- 
ing Christmas. 

Everything  was  indeed  ready  in  time,  and  Mr.  Clarence 
Eddy,  the  famous  soloist,  was  invited  to  show  forth  the  power 
of  this  admirable  organ.  What  a  treat  to  lovers  of  music  on 
that  Christmas  morning,  as  this  artist  warmed  into  sympathy 
with  his  instrument,  and  gave  birth  to  harmonies  that  seemed  to 
transcend  the  power  of  man!    Of  the  organ,  Mr.  Eddy  wrote: 

"The  St.  Ignatius  organ  is  one  of  the  great  ones  of  the  world. 
I  consider  it  the  finest  and  best  church  organ  in  America.  I 
have  opened  nearly  all  the  great  church  organs  in  the  United 
States,  and  therefore  am  familiar  with  them.  The  organ  at  St. 
Ignatius  is  the  most  complete  of  all  in  its  mechanical  accessories. 
It  is  admirably  placed,  so  that  it  sends  out  its  full  volume  all  over 
the  church  and  produces  the  finest  effect.  I  scarcely  took  my 
fingers  from  the  keys  for  three  hours,  I  was  so  pleased  with  it. 

Its  action  is  electric.  When  its  four  banks  of  keys  are 
coupled,  its  touch  is  no  heavier  than  when  only  one  manual  is 
played.  The  voicing  is  superb  and  thoroughly  artistic.  Several 
of  the  reed  stops  were  imported  from  France.  I  consider  the 
instrument  exceptionally  fine.    There  are  over  eighty  stops. 

Musically,  it  is  entirely  worthy  of  the  mechanical  part.  The 
specification  is  particularly  well  designed.     It  is  modeled  after 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        317 

the  great  Columbian  organ,  which  was  such  a  success  at  Chicago. 
One  feature  is  the  open  diapason,  thirty-two  foot,  which  has  been 
made  in  California  since  the  instrument  was  brought  here.  It 
is  a  remarkably  effective  stop.  By  one  pressure  of  the  pedal  the 
entire  resources  of  the  organ  can  be  operated. 

The  crescendo  and  decrescendo  can  be  produced  by  the  use 
of  one  pedal,  and  I  found  the  effect  startling.  The  soft-to-full 
organ  and  the  reverse  can  be  played  without  taking  the  hands 
off.  By  the  adjustable  combination  pistons  between  the  manuals, 
any  combination  of  manual  and  pedal  stops  can  be  set  and  locked. 
Drawing  a  piston  locks  the  combination  and  gives  perfect  con- 
trol of  the  organ. 

The  voicing  of  the  reeds  is  characteristic.  Remarkably  rapid 
repetitions  of  combinations  can  be  made  without  robbing  the 
organ  of  wind.  The  diapasons  are  very  full  and  dignified.  To 
sum  it  all  up,  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  and  finest  organs  in  the 
world." 

"When  the  size  and  expense  of  this  instrument  are  reckoned," 

says  another  account,  "one  marvels  at  the  promptness  of  the 

builders  in  producing  such  a  result  in  the  short  time  that  has 

elapsed    since   they   received   the    order    last    March;    the    last 

three  months  having  been  devoted  to  putting  it  in  place.     This 

latter  process  was  impeded  by  a  change  regarding  its  location. 

The  old  organ  stood  in  the  upper    gallery;    the  new  one  was 

intended  to  replace  it.     But  when  it  arrived  here  the  discovery 

was  made  that  it  would  almost  seem  to  adhere  to  the  ceiling,  like 

an  escaped  toy  balloon  in  a  nursery,  its  height  being  so  great.    It 

was,  therefore,  wisely  decided  to  cut  away  the  upper  gallery  and 

set  the  organ  in  the  lower,  where  it  now  reposes  like  a  picture 

in  a  frame — the  central  glory  of  the  west  end  of  this  splendid 

church. 

The  instrument  weighs  over  100,000  pounds.  It  was  neces- 
sary, therefore,  to  rebuild  the  floor  and  strengthen  it  with  num- 
erous steel  girders.  It  was  necessary,  also,  to  project  the  gallery 
front.  All  of  which  being  accomplished,  has  resulted  in  the  lib- 
eral accommodations  for  a  very  large  choir  in  front  of  the 
instrument." 


3i8  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

"St.  Ignatius  organ,"  says  the  same  writer  in  another  account, 
"contains  eighty-five  stops  and  five  thousand  three  hundred  and 
one  pipes.     In  detail  the  stops  and  pipes  are  as  follows : 
The  great   organ  21   stops  and   1,646  pipes. 

Swell  organ  20  stops  and  1,377  pipes. 

Choir  organ   15  stops  and  1,098  pipes. 

Solo    organ     8  stops  and      488  pipes. 

Echo    organ     8  stops  and      293  pipes. 

Pedal  organ  13  stops  and      399  pipes. 
Total :    85  stops  and  5,301  pipes." 

Such  was  the  magnificent  instrument  which  was  to  perpetuate 
through  time  the  memory  of  the  harmonies  of  a  religious  life  of 
fifty  years,  in  which  the  greatness  of  noble  desires  for  the  glory 
of  God  admirably  blended  with  the  minute  observance  of  religious 
rule,  for  Father  Varsi  was  as  exact  in  the  latter  as  remarkable 
in  the  former. 

1897. 

Hitherto  the  history  of  St.  Ignatius  has  not  lacked  its  diffi- 
culties, but  they  have  been  mainly  those  incident  to  the  labor 
of  historic  research.  The  year  1897  presents  one  of  another 
kind.  The  death  of  those  who  labored  long  and  hard  to  build 
up  church  and  college  come  in  such  rapid  succession,  with  so 
little  else  to  offset  the  gloom  with  brightness,  that  this  page  of 
history  is  little  more  than  a  series  of  mortuary  notices,  telling 
us  that  the  old  generation  of  pious,  noble  souls  is  passing;  so 
that  sadness  of  spirit  can  impart  but  little  energy  to  the  lag- 
ging pen. 

The  death  of  Father  Benedict  Piccardo  in  Santa  Clara,  on  Feb- 
ruary 13th,  was  but  the  prelude  to  that  of  Father  John  Pinasco  at 
Los  Gatos  on  March  9th.  The  sickness  contracted  when  vice- 
president  at  St.  Ignatius  had  never  left  him,  and  when  a  new 
cold  developed  into  pneumonia,  nature's  vitality  had  been  so 
impaired  that  there  was  no  resisting  the  destroyer,  Death.  Still, 
as  often  happens  in  such  cases,  the  seriousness  of  the  malady  did 
not  at  first  manifest  itself,  and  when  it  did,  life  for  Father 
Pinasco  was  only  a  matter  of  hours.  He  was  born  at  Chiavari 
near  Genoa,  on  June   nth,    1837,  and  entered  the  Society  of 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         319 

Jesus  on  December  19th,  1853.  Among  his  fellow  novices  were 
Father  Joseph  Tardini,  already  a  priest,  and  Angelo  Affranchino 
then  a  youth  of  nineteen.  Having  completed  the  ordinary  two 
years  of  novitiate,  he  studied  another  of  literature  at  Massa 
Carrara,  and,  in  1856,  was  sent  to  Stonyhurst,  England.  Here 
he  remained  until  1859,  studying  English  and  finishing  two  years 
of  philosophy.  Coming  to  California,  he  taught  in  Santa  Clara 
until  1867,  completing  meanwhile  his  third  year  of  philosophy. 
He  was  then  sent  to  Georgetown  for  theology;  was  ordained 
priest;  and  in  187 1  returned  to  Santa  Clara  to  take  up  his  work 
in  the  classroom.  On  December  8th,  1876,  he  became,  as  we 
have  seen,  president  of  St.  Ignatius;  then,  on  July  10th,  1880, 
president  of  Santa  Clara;  again  returning  to  the  classroom  in 
St.  Ignatius  in  1883.  A  year  later,  he  became  Master  of  Novices, 
and  so  remained  until  made  president  of  Santa  Clara,  December 
27th,  1888.  Relieved  of  this  office  on  July  31st,  1903,  he  became 
once  more  vice-president  of  St.  Ignatius  and  remained  in  that 
office  until  the  end  of  1895,  when  he  retired  to  Los  Gatos  to 
die  a  death  worthy  of  his  truly  religious  life.  Father  Pinaso 
was  a  man  of  gentle,  lovable  disposition  and  of  much  kindness 
of  heart;  though,  underneath  that  gentleness,  there  was  a  firm- 
ness, which,  if  need  be,  soon  made  its  presence  felt.  That  he 
was  thoroughly  progressive  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  was 
president  when  the  present  College  of  St.  Ignatius  was  planned 
and  built,  and  was  entirely  in  sympathy  with  the  broad  plans 
of  Father  Varsi.  He  was,  at  the  same  time,  eminently  prudent, 
and  accustomed  to  decide  matters  of  importance  after  calm,  cool 
deliberation.  His  friends  were  many  and  warm,  and  his  loss  was 
much  regretted  by  the  members  of  the  Californian  Mission. 

Only  nine  days  elapsed  after  the  calling  away  of  Father 
Pinasco  when  Father  Maraschi  responded  to  the  same  dread  sum- 
mons. His  health  had  been  failing  for  some  time,  but  in  his 
case,  as  in  that  of  Father  Pinasco,  death  came  far  more  rapidly 
than  expected.  Still  it  found  the  good  Father  fully  prepared, 
and  at  about  6:45  a.  mv  on  the  18th  of  the  month,  he  quietly 
passed  to  a  better  life.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  his 
body  was  borne  to  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  Chapel,  and  the 
scenes  beheld  at  Father  Buchard's  death  were  once  more  repeated. 
If  anything,  the  flow  of  people  was  greater ;  for  Father  Maraschi, 


320 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


in  his  forty-three  years  of  active  life  in  San  Francisco,  had  come 
into  closer  personal  contact  with  thousands  of  people  than  Father 
Buchard.  The  latter  was  known  for  his  zeal  and  eloquence,  the 
former  for  his  active  charity.  Late  in  the  evening  of  the  19th, 
the  body  was  removed  to  the  church,  where  a  dense  crowd  of 
people  had  gathered  to  gaze  once  again  upon  that  familiar  face 
and  offer  a  prayer  for  the  departed  soul.  On  the  20th,  the  Office 
of  the  Dead  was  recited  at  8 130  a.  m.,  after  which  a  low  mass 
was  celebrated  by  Rev.  Father  Frieden,  and  then  the  body  was 
taken  to  Santa  Clara  for  burial,  the  Southern  Pacific  R.  R.  Co. 
allowing  the  free  use  of  a  car  for  the  purpose,  thus  repay- 
ing various  acts  of  kindness  received  from  the  Father  while 
he  managed  the  affairs  of  the  college. 

"With  impressive  simplicity,  without  pomp  of  ceremony," 
says  the  account  of  his  funeral,  "a  low  mass  of  requiem  was 
offered  yesterday  morning  at  9:15  in  St.  Ignatius  Church  for  the 
repose  of  the  soul  of  the  late  Father  Anthony  Maraschi.     .     .     . 

It  was  the  funeral  of  a  member  of  the  Jesuit  Order.  There 
was  no  sermon,  no  word  of  commendation  for  the  dead,  no 
recounting  his  deeds  of  sacrifice  and  acts  of  holy  zeal.  But  deep 
in  the  hearts  of  the  vast  concourse  that  filled  pews  and  aisles, 
and  pressed  against  the  sanctuary  rail,  the  eulogy  of  that  life 
was  engraven  in  indelible  characters. 

Early  in  the  morning,  an  almost  continuous  stream  of  people 
commenced  moving  along  the  line  of  Hayes  Street  toward  St. 
Ignatius  Church,  growing  more  dense  as  accessions  from  the 
various  avenues  leading  into  that  thoroughfare  joined  the  main 
line. 

The  casket,  with  its  folds  of  black  broadcloth,  handles  and 
plates  of  silver,  was  a  tribute  of  gratitude  from  the  members  of 
the  Ladies'  Sodality,  of  which  for  twenty  years,  Father  Maraschi 
had  been  director.  In  the  main  aisle  stood  the  casket.  Upon  it 
loving  hands  had  placed  date-palm  fronds,  bound  into  a  double 
sheaf.  They  symbolized  the  triumphs  and  the  honors  of  a  life 
well  spent.  Near  them  was  a  laurel  crown,  typical  of  the  victory 
of  the  soul  over  death,  and  its  eternal  reward  in  the  life  beyond 
the  grave. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  last  prayers,  the  pall  bearers, 
D.  Kavanagh,  W.  Deeney,  R.  Drathman,  E.  Wheeler,  F.  Rup- 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         321 

pert  and  J.  Grisez,  scholastics  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  lifted  the 
casket  from  the  bier  and  carried  it  out  through  the  divided  lines 
of  the  priests  and  acolytes  to  the  hearse  awaiting  its  reception. 
As  the  casket  and  its  bearers  passed  on,  the  crowds  within  and 
without  the  church  pressed  forward  silent,  reverential  and  eager 
to  gaze  upon  the  coffin  that  contained  all  that  was  human  of 
the  aged  and  honored  priest. 

As  the  casket  rested  in  the  hearse  for  a  few  minutes  before 
the  funeral  procession  moved  off,  there  were  those  in  the  crowd 
who  pressed  forward  to  touch  the  coffin  with  handkerchief,  prayer 
book,  rosary  or  crucifix,  all  to  be  treasured  as  sacred  mementoes 
of  him  whom  some  had  known  from  very  infancy. 

At  the  Valencia  Street  Station,  the  pall  bearers  removed  the 
casket  from  the  hearse  to  the  funeral  car  'El  Descanso,'  placed  at 
the  service  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers  for  the  occasion  by  the  courtesy 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  through  General 
Superintendent  Filmore. 

The  remains  were  conveyed  to  Santa  Clara  on  the  noon  train, 
and  were  taken  to  St.  Claire's  Church,  where  the  lid  of  the  casket 
was  removed,  in  order  that  friends  in  Santa  Clara  might  view 
the  features  of  the  dead  priest  for  the  last  time. 

At  1 130  o'clock  the  Fathers  entered  the  church,  surrounded 
the  body,  and  the  last  prayers  were  said.  At  the  grave  the  Abso- 
lution was  pronounced  by  the  president  of  Santa  Clara  College." 

Father  Anthony  Maraschi  was  born  at  Oleggio,  Diocese  of 
Novara,  Italy,  on  September  2nd,  1820,  and  entered  the  Society 
of  Jesus  on  May  31st,  1841.  In  1848,  he  came  to  Georgetown 
to  complete  his  theology,  and  afterwards  taught  philosophy  for 
some  years  in  Baltimore.  He  arrived  in  San  Francisco,  as  we 
have  seen,  on  November  1st,  1854,  and,  what  is  remarkable  in 
the  life  of  a  Jesuit,  remained  for  forty-three  years  in  the  same 
place.  At  first  an  assistant  at  St.  Francis,  he  was  afterwards, 
for  about  half  a  year,  assistant  at  St.  Patrick's,  until  his  own 
little  Church  of  St.  Ignatius  lifted  its  head  among  the  sand  hills. 
From  that  time  to  his  death,  he  attended,  in  great  part,  to  the 
financial  affairs  of  the  institution.  A  man  of  much  business 
capacity  and  foresight,  he  was  never  cast  down  by  difficulties ;  a 


322  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

man  of  remarkable  mortification  and  confidence  in  God,  he  knew 
where  to  place  his  trust. 

Prominent  business  men  of  the  city  sought  his  advice  in  busi- 
ness matters,  while  the  poor  and  ailing  found  in  him  equally  a 
friend,  for  he  was  no  discriminator  of  persons.  Many  believed 
that  he  could  work  miracles  and  begged  his  assistance  in  all 
manner  of  diseases;  and,  indeed,  it  seems  certain  that,  whether 
in  recompense  of  their  faith  or  the  merits  of  Father  Maraschi, 
more  than  one  special  favor  answered  their  requests.  He  was  a 
man  of  action,  not  words;  seemingly  cold  and  distant,  but,  for 
all  that,  possessing  a  warm  heart.  He  has  every  right  to  be  con- 
sidered the  founder  even  of  the  present  church  and  college,  for 
it  was  the  property  on  Market  Street  and  the  land  near  Richmond, 
both  acquired  through  him,  that  supplied  the  funds  to  build  St. 
Ignatius  and  to  liquidate  its  debt.  On  the  day  following  Father 
Maraschi's  death,  Father  Vincent  Testa  was  called  from  Santa 
Clara  to  replace  him. 

A  month  passed  and  Easter  came,  and  Clarence  Eddy  was 
once  more  invited  to  preside  at  the  organ.  So  great  was  the 
concourse  of  people  at  the  High  Mass,  that  the  Ladies'  Sodality 
Chapel  was  utilized  for  the  public,  and,  through  the  open  windows, 
a  large  number  of  people  joined  themselves  to  the  worshipers 
in  the  aisles  below,  and  listened  with  rapt  attention  to  the 
marvelous  strains  called  forth  from  the  organ  by  Mr.  Eddy. 

Some  ten  days  later,  on  the  Wednesday  following  Easter 
week,  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  gave  a  musical  and  dramatic 
entertainment  to  their  many  friends.  The  venture  was  so  suc- 
cessful financially,  and  reflected  so  much  credit  upon  the  body, 
that  a  yearly  drama  was  determined  upon.  The  resolution  has 
been  faithfully  adhered  to,  even  at  the  cost  of  many  sacrifices 
on  the  part  of  those  who  have  participated  in  the  plays,  but  sacri- 
fices have  seemed  light  which  would  further  the  interests  of  the 
Sodality.  That  the  public  has  duly  appreciated  the  efforts  of 
the  Sodalists  has  been  shown  again  and  again  by  crowded 
houses,  even  when,  as  in  1903,  "Everyman"  was  given  for  two 
evenings,  and  in  1904,  "Dante"  was  given  for  three. 

On  May  28th,  1897,  the  generosity  of  Mrs.  Welch  once 
more  enabled  Father  Varsi  to  complete  a  work  which  he  had 
much  at  heart,   the  adorning  of    the  domestic  chapel  of    the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         323 

Fathers.  The  art  of  Mr.  Moretti  was  again  enlisted,  plans  were 
formed  and  submitted  on  August  13th,  and,  upon  their  approval, 
work  was  begun.  A  new  tabernacle  brought  the  altar  into  beau- 
tiful proportions,  the  sanctuary  was  enlarged,  a  new  sacristy  fitted 
up,  solid  benches  of  tastefully  carved  oak  were  supplied,  and  its 
walls  and  ceiling  exquisitely  frescoed. 

In  the  early  days  of  June,  Mr.  George  P.  Butler,  S.  J.,  was 
raised  to  the  priesthood,  and  on  the  6th  he  celebrated  in  the 
church  his  first  mass.  If  it  was  a  happy  day  for  his  parents,  it 
was  none  the  less  so  for  St.  Ignatius,  his  Alma  Mater,  who 
rejoiced  in  the  thought  that  one  more  was  added  to  the  line 
already  lengthening  of  the  children  whom  she  had  given  to  the 
priestly  order.  He  was  the  first  of  the  pupils  of  the  new  college 
to  be  ordained  in  the  church. 

The  catalogue  of  this  year  omits  the  elementary  classes  and 
reduces  the  preparatory  classes  from  three  to  two.  By  the  elim- 
ination of  these  classes  there  was  naturally  a  diminution  in  num- 
bers. It  was  hoped,  however,  that  the  raising  of  the  standard 
of  the  college  would  more  than  compensate  for  any  numerical 
loss. 

The  Missouri  Province  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  kindly  gave 
efficient  help  to  California,  when,  in  June,  it  lent  Father  Henry 
Moeller  for  some  two  months  to  preach  and  give  retreats;  and, 
in  July,  it  sent  Fathers  Hugh  Finnegan  and  Aloysius  Van  der 
Eerden  to  give  missions  in  the  archdiocese. 

The  new  members  of  the  faculty  were  Fathers  George  P. 
Butler;  Dionysius  Mahony,  lately  relieved  of  the  presidency  of 
the  college  in  San  Jose ;  and  Mr.  James  Colligan,  S.  J.  Of  the 
former  staff,  Father  Charles  Pollano  had  gone  to  Los  Gatos 
for  his  health,  whither  also  had  gone  Mr.  James  Malone.  Messrs. 
Joseph  Lydon,  James  Hayes  and  Aloysius  Ruth  had  departed  for 
Santa  Clara,  and  Mr.  Octavius  Villa,  S.  J.,  for  St.  Louis. 

But  we  must  turn  back  a  little  to  May  10th,  when  death 
snatched  away  Father  Nicholas  Congiato  at  Los  Gatos.  Even 
from  his  early  days  in  California,  his  health  had  been  weak,  and 
more  than  once  had  the  cares  of  office  been  beyond  his  strength ; 
yet,  with  wonderful  recuperative  powers,  he  had  managed  always 
to  regain  strength  enough  to  labor,  passing  away  at  the  ripe 


324  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

age  of  eighty-one,  sixty-two  years  of  which  he  had  lived  as  a 

Jesuit. 

He  was  a  native  of  Roague,  Sardinia,  where  he  was  born 
on  September  14th,  18 16,  at  an  early  age  becoming  a  pupil  of 
the  Jesuit  College  at  Sassari.  For  two  years  he  sought  in  vain 
his  father's  consent  to  his  entrance  into  the  Jesuit  Order,  but 
finally  succeeded  in  obtaining  it;  so  that,  on  May  15th,  1835, 
when  not  quite  nineteen  years  old,  he  entered  the  Novitiate  at 
Cagliari.  After  having  studied  his  philosophy  in  Turin,  he  was 
made  vice-president  of  the  College  of  Nobles,  and  later  filled  the 
same  position  in  the  College  of  Freiburg.  On  November  13th, 
1847,  tne  Jesuits  were  expelled  from  this  latter  place,  where- 
upon Mr.  Congiato  returned  to  Italy  and  commenced  his  study 
of  theology.  Owing  to  the  troubled  condition  of  the  times,  he 
was  soon  ordained  priest,  but  was  driven  to  America  by  the 
revolution  of  1848.  He  completed  his  theology  at  Bardstown, 
Kentucky,  and  was  at  the  same  time  Spiritual  Father.  Later  he 
was  also  president  of  the  college.  In  1854,  he  left  for  the  Pacific 
Coast,  and  arrived  on  December  8th,  his  appointment  as  Superior 
of  California  and  Oregon  dating  from  August  1st.  The  death 
of  Father  Nobili,  March  1st,  1856,  obliged  him  to  take  the  bur- 
den of  Santa  Clara  College  upon  his  shoulders,  though  weak 
health  soon  obliged  him  to  transfer  the  burden  to  those  of  Father 
Mengarini.  Most  of  his  succeeding  history  has  been  told  in 
these  pages.  On  January  24th,  1870,  he  was  sent  to  San  Jose 
as  Superior  of  the  residence  and  pastor  of  the  congregation. 
While  thus  employed,  he  built  the  present  beautiful  Church  of 
St.  Joseph.  In  1888,  he  ceased  to  be  Superior  and  pastor,  but 
remained  laboring  in  San  Jose  for  two  years  more.  In  1890, 
broken  in  health,  he  retired  to  Los  Gatos,  spending  his  remain- 
ing years  in  the  loving  task  of  imparting  a  knowledge  of  the 
classics  to  the  young  Jesuits.  He  was  a  man  of  sound  judgment 
and  great  firmness  of  character,  and  for  about  forty  years  of 
his  life  filled  some  office  of  superiorship.  His  self-sacrifice  and 
spirit  of  prayer  were  remarkable,  and  his  confidence  in  St.  Joseph 
knew  no  limit. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  school  year  in  August,  the  pupils 
had  once  more  the  benefit  of  a  special  professor  of  elocution. 
The  modern  languages,  French,  German,  Italian  and  Spanish, 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         325 

received  also  a  new  impetus,  these  branches  being  open  gra- 
tuitously to  all  capable  of  profiting  by  them.  About  the  same 
time  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  discontinue  the  Sunday-school 
for  boys,  which  had  been  taught  in  the  student's  chapel.  The 
churches  of  the  city  had  multiplied,  classes  under  able  teachers 
had  been  organized  in  the  various  parishes,  the  need  that  had 
called  into  existence  the  Sunday-school  of  St.  Ignatius  had 
ceased,  and  hence,  as  in  similar  cases,  the  Fathers  were  only 
too  happy  to  leave  the  field  to  others. 

On  August  1 2th,  Father  Charles  Messea,  so  long  connected 
with  St.  Ignatius,  passed  to  a  better  life.  The  infirmities  which 
in  March,  1891,  had  obliged  him  to  seek  relief  in  Santa  Clara,  had 
never  left  him,  and  here,  having  edified  all  by  his  patience  in 
suffering,  he  peacefully  yielded  his  soul  into  the  hands  of  his 
Creator. 

The  mission  of  Fathers  Finnigan  and  Van  der  Eerden,  which 
was  eminently  successful,  aptly  completes  the  items  of  interest 
of  1897.  It  began  on  September  12th  with  a  week  for  women, 
followed  by  a  week  for  men.  The  church  was  packed  the  whole 
time  with  an  appreciative  audience,  and  many  a  wandering  soul 
was  brought  back  to  a  life  more  consonant  with  Christian 
principles. 

1898. 

In  January,  a  monthly  publication,  called  the  St.  Ignatius 
Church  and  College  Calendar,  began  to  be  edited  by  Father 
Dionysius  Mahony,  its  author's  name  being  ample  guarantee  of 
the  solidity  and  beauty  of  its  contents.  In  its  first  issue  we  find 
mention  of  the  ''League  of  Study." 

"Under  this  name,"  it  says,  "the  League  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
had  been  adapted  to  the  special  conditions  of  young  people  who 
are  receiving  their  education.  It  has  been  established  in  the 
college  for  some  time,  and  the  students  take  great  interest  in 
its  workings,  from  which  they  receive  no  little  help  in  their 
studies.  The  first  conferring  of  decorations  for  the  term  '97-98 
took  place  in  the  college  chapel  on  December  17th.  Rev. 
Father  Frieden,  president  of  the  college,  officiated.  After  the 
usual  league  devotions  and  an  appropriate  discourse  by  Father 
Frieden,  the    decorations    were    blessed.     Those  who  were  to 


326  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

receive  them  rose  in  their  places,  and  made  the  promise  never  to 
join  Freemasonry  or  any  other  secret  society.  The  decorations 
were  then  distributed.  Seventy-five  students  received  the  first 
decoration ;  nineteen  received  the  second ;  sixteen  received  the 
third,  and  twenty-four  received  the  fourth.  Among  them  were 
fifteen  promoters.  The  decorations  carry  with  them  the  right  to 
the  papal  blessing  and  a  plenary  indulgence  on  the  day  of  recep- 
tion and  at  the  hour  of  death.  Those  who  gain  the  last  decora- 
tion at  the  end  of  their  college  career,  gain  the  same  privileges 
for  their  parents,  and  brothers,  and  sisters.  The  touching  ser- 
vice was  concluded  with  Solemn  Benediction.  The  college  orches- 
tra and  the  college  choir  furnished  the  music.  Father  Woods, 
the  director  of  the  League,  deserves  praise  for  the  zeal  displayed 
in  making  this  form  of  devotion  so  popular  among  the  students." 

On  January  27th,  a  peaceful  death  in  Santa  Clara,  closed 
the  life  of  Father  Michael  Shallo  who,  chiefly  in  the  later 
Seventies  and  early  Eighties,  rendered  valuable  services  to  St. 
Ignatius.  He  was  born  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  on  September  13th, 
1853,  and  passed  his  early  years  under  the  watchful  care  of  the 
Carmelite  Fathers  at  Clondalkin.  On  September  14th,  1872,  he 
became  a  Jesuit  at  Milltown  Park,  Dublin,  and  two  years  later 
passed  over  to  Roehampton,  W.  London,  England.  He  came 
to  California  in  1876,  and  in  1877  began  his  course  of  teaching 
in  St.  Ignatius.  Of  refined  literary  taste  he  was  much  admired 
by  his  pupils. 

In  1882,  he  left  for  Woodstock,  Md.,  to  finish  his  course  of 
philosophy  and  enter  upon  his  theology.  Returning  to  California 
in  1887,  he  spent  most  of  his  remaining  years  as  professor  of 
philosophy  and  Spiritual  Father  of  the  students  in  Santa  Clara. 
His  death  was  much  regretted  by  all  who  knew  him,  for  his 
talents,  cultivated  by  extensive  reading,  were  much  above  the 
ordinary,  and  in  personal  magnetism  he  was  equaled  by  few. 

In  March,  the  Philhistorian  Debating  Society,  under  the 
direction  of  Father  Mahony,  gave  a  public  entertainment. 

"A  very  large  audience,"  we  are  told,  "assembled  in  the  col- 
lege hall  to  listen  to  the  debate,  'Resolved,  That  the  Annexation 
of  Hawaii  is  Just  and  Expedient.'  This  was  the  first  public 
appearance  of  the  society  in  many  years,  but  the  literary  finish 


FATHER  TELESPHORUS  DEMASINI,  S.  J. 


FATHER  JOSEPH  NERI,   S.   T. 
FATHER  ALOYSIUS  BRUNENGO,   S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         327 

of  the  different  speeches  which  went  to  form  the  programme, 
showed  that  the  members  have  been  laboring  to  perfect  them- 
selves. This  it  was  which  enabled  them  to  bear  themselves  like 
veterans.  .  .  .  The  success  of  this  entertainment  should 
encourage  the  members  of  the  Debating  Society  to  appear  oftener 
before  the  public." 

The  May  of  1898  was  doubly  dear  to  the  congregation  and 
friends  of  St.  Ignatius,  for  not  only  were  there  the  ordinary  ten- 
der associations  that  cluster  around  this,  the  sweetest  month  of 
the  year,  but  there  were  those  also  that  are  associated  with  the 
happiness  of  an  old  and  esteemed  friend ;  on  the  8th  of  the  month, 
Father  Telesphorus  Demasini  celebrated  the  Golden  Jubilee  of 
his  priesthood.  He  was  Celebrant  at  Solemn  High  Mass,  and,  in 
the  afternoon,  was  the  honored  guest  of  the  Gentlemen's  and 
Ladies'  Sodalities.  A  substantial  purse  was  presented  during 
the  entertainment.  The  Students'  reception  was  given  on  the 
morning  following. 

"A  largely  attended  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  the  Gen- 
tlemen's Sodality  was  held  at  its  library  on  Friday  evening,"  says 
an  account  printed  early  in  May,  "to  make  arrangements  for 
the  Golden  Jubilee  of  Father  Demasini.  James  R.  Kelly,  who 
occupied  the  chair,  spoke  of  the  genial  manners  of  Father 
Demasini,  and  also  of  his  unselfishness,  and  of  the  great  amount 
of  good  that  he  has  done  during  his  active  career.  A  resolution 
was  passed,  and  a  circular  was  addressed  by  John  F.  Fitzpatrick, 
calling  on  all  the  graduates  of  Santa  Clara  and  St.  Ignatius 
Colleges  to  participate  with  the  Ladies'  and  Gentlemen's  Sodali- 
ties in  giving  Father  Demasini  a  fitting  reception  and  testimonial. 

A  deputation  from  the  Ladies'  Sodality  expressed  the  wish 
to  co-operate  with  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  and  graduates,  a 
desire  which  was  willingly  accepted." 

"Rev.  Father  Telesphorus  Demasini,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus," 
says  another  account,  "celebrated  yesterday  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  his  ordination.  There  was  nothing  that  the  highest 
respect  and  tenderest  friendship  of  the  clergy  and  laity  could 
suggest  that  was  not  done  to  honor  Father  Demasini  for  the 
signal  distinction  attained  both  in  years  and  good  works.     The 


328  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

best  of  health  and  spirits,  despite  his  seventy-five  years,  speak 
for  him  many  more  useful  days. 

Father  Demasini  is  essentially  a  teacher.  For  the  many  years 
that  he  has  been  in  California,  he  has,  besides  ministering  to 
those  who  sought  his  spiritual  comfort,  and  performing  the 
duties  of  his  calling  generally,  occupied  the  chair  of  philosophy 
in  Santa  Clara  and  St.  Ignatius  Colleges. 

The  Golden  Jubilee  commenced  with  the  Solemn  High  Mass 
at  10:30  o'clock,  at  which  Father  Demasini  was  Celebrant.  Rev- 
erend Father  Frieden,  Superior  of  the  Order  in  California, 
preached  a  sermon  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  accentuating  the 
peace  and  the  comfort  which  come  in  the  closing  days  of  a  life 
which  has  been  filled  with  work,  and  study,  and  good  deeds. 

At  the  entertainment  and  reception  held  in  the  college  hall, 
the  congratulatory  address  was  made  by  James  R.  Kelly,  Esq., 
who,  speaking  for  all,  formulated  an  expression  of  regard  and 
good  wishes  for  the  return  of  many  happy,  useful  years.  Dur- 
ing the  course  of  this  felicitous  address,  as  one  who  had  known 
Father  Demasini  every  day,  since  the  coming  of  the  Father  to 
California  in  1868,  Mr.  Kelly  spoke  of  the  blessing  that  the 
Father  had  been  to  all  who  had  received  his  ministrations,  and  to 
the  thousands  of  young  men  who  had  been  under  his  tutelage." 

The  changes  in  the  faculty  this  year  were  less  numerous  than 
usual.  Messrs.  Cornelius  Buckley,  Thomas  Hogan,  John  Hayes, 
and  James  Colligan,  S.  J.,  left  for  St.  Ignatius  Mission,  Mon- 
tana. Three  Fathers  were  added  to  the  community — Father 
John  Forhan,  who  had  come  from  Canada;  Father  Richard 
Bell,  returned  from  Rome;  and  Father  Oswald  Miller,  of  Buf- 
falo. Mr.  Joseph  Miller,  S.  J.,  had  also  come  from  Buffalo  for 
his  health;  and  Mr.  Patrick  Ryan,  S.  J.,  had  been  lent  by  the 
Mission  of  New  Orleans  to  assist  in  the  college. 

Up  to  the  August  of  the  present  year,  the  college  hall  had 
remained  in  the  simple,  though  tasteful,  plainness  which  it  had 
received  when  first  built.  On  August  12th,  however,  a  gener- 
osity which  seemed  bent  on  adding  a  new  joy  each  year  to 
Father  Varsi's  life  in  enabling  him  to  see  his  work  perfected  in 
detail,  put  it  into  his  power  to  add  new  beauty  to  the  hall.  The 
same  delicate  taste  in  color,  and  panel,  and  fresco,  that  had  been 


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ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         329 

exercised  in  the  adornment  of  church  and  chapel,  was  again 
employed  and  with  equally  happy  results.  On  October  19th,  at 
a  public  specimen  of  elocution  given  by  the  pupils,  people  admired 
for  the  first  time  the  new  wonders  of  the  artist's  brush. 

To  requite  benefactions,  which  had  placed  St.  Ignatius  under 
so  great  a  debt  of  obligation,  Rev.  Father  Frieden  made  appeal 
to  the  Father  General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  asking  a 
favor  granted  to  few,  viz  :  that  Mrs.  Welch  should  be  admitted 
to  a  share  in  all  the  good  works  performed  by  the  Jesuit  Order. 
His  Paternity,  by  a  letter  of  September  8th,  graciously  acceded 
to  the  request : 
"Louis  Martin,  Superior  General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  sends 

to  the  esteemed  Lady,  Mrs.  Bertha  Welch,  eternal  greeting 

in  the  Lord. 

Such  is  your  virtue  and  piety,  Madam — such  your  generosity 
towards  our  Society — that  we  consider  in  justice  due  you  what- 
ever return  we  can  make.  And  since  in  no  way  can  we  better 
show  our  regard  for  you  than  by  spiritual  favors,  we,  by  that 
authority  which,  although  unworthy,  the  Lord  has  given  us  in 
this  Society,  constitute  you  a  sharer  in  all  and  each  of  the  Holy 
Sacrifices,  prayers,  fasts  and  other  good  works — in  a  word,  in 
all  the  pious  exercises  of  soul  and  body  which,  by  God's  grace, 
are  performed  throughout  the  whole  Society;  and,  with  all  the 
affection  of  our  heart,  we  grant  you  in  Christ  Jesus  a  full  par- 
ticipation in  them,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen.  Moreover,  we  beg  of  God 
and  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  He,  from  heaven, 
may  ratify  and  confirm  this  our  grant,  and  that  out  of  the  inex- 
haustible treasury  of  the  merits  of  His  Son  supplying  for  our 
poverty,  He  may  shower  every  grace  and  blessing  on  you  in  this 
life,  and  with  the  crown  of  heavenly  glory  reward  you  forever! 

Louis  Martin,  S.  J., 

Ant.  Rota,  Sec. 
Given  at  Rome,  Sept.  8th,  1898." 

1899. 
On  February  27th,  1899,  Rev.  Father  Frieden  left  for  Turin 
on  business  connected  with  the  Calif ornian  Mission,  and,  before 
departing,  appointed  Father  Calzia  to  replace  him  in  his  absence. 


33o  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

While  he  was  away,  Father  Celestine  Galliano,  whose  many 
deeds  of  kindness  to  the  poor,  and  sick,  and  the  outcast,  called 
down  many  a  benediction  on  his  head,  went  to  receive  the  reward 
of  a  virtuous  life.  Three  years  of  constant  suffering  had  worn 
him  to  a  skeleton,  but,  in  spite  of  his  infirmities,  he  had  continued 
to  say  mass  up  to  the  close  of  March.  The  end  came  peacefully, 
and  strengthened  by  the  Sacraments  of  the  Church,  he  passed 
away  on  April  12th.  His  apostolate  had  been  a  silent  but  a  fruit- 
ful one.  Between  the  years  1880  and  1896  he  had  baptized  one 
hundred  and  fifty  infants  in  the  hospital,  and  by  his  zeal  received 
three  hundred  and  forty-nine  adults  into  the  Church.  He  has 
left  us  a  list  indicating  many  of  the  forms  of  religion  to  which 
these  converts  belonged:  Calvinists,  2;  Campbellites,  10;  Bap- 
tists, 10;  Episcopalians,  45  ;  Jews,  2  ;  Greek  Schismatic,  1 ;  Meth- 
odists, 28;  Lutherans,  37;  Presbyterians,  31;  Quakers,  2;  Sal- 
vationist, 1;  Unitarians,  4;  Universalists,  19;  others,  157.  His 
body  was  removed  to  the  church  on  the  evening  of  the  13th, 
when  the  Office  of  the  Dead  was  recited  for  the  repose  of  his 
soul.  The  mass  was  said  on  the  following  morning,  and  the 
remains  were  then  taken  to  Santa  Clara  for  burial. 

A  month  later,  May  13th,  Reverend  Father  Frieden  arrived 
in  San  Francisco  from  his  trip  to  Europe,  and,  four  days  after- 
wards, the  Sodalities  gave  him  a  reception  in  the  college  hall. 
The  meeting  was  most  pleasant  on  both  sides.  He  was  pleased 
to  be  back  with  those  whom  during  the  preceding  year  he  had 
made  his  friends,  and  they  were  glad  to  welcome  back  one  who 
had  ever  taken  a  deep  interest  in  their  organizations. 

Father  John  P.  Frieden  was  born  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of 
Luxemburg  on  November  18th,  1844.  After  a  preliminary  edu- 
cation in  the  local  schools  of  his  district  he  entered  the  Normal 
School  of  the  city  of  Luxemburg,  and,  having  graduated  in  1862, 
spent  some  years  in  teaching.  With  mind  thus  prepared  for 
higher  studies,  he  entered  upon  a  college  course  in  the  same 
city,  and  in  due  time  completed  it.  Attracted  by  a  life  of  study, 
yet  wishing  to  consecrate  all  to  God,  he  determined  to  enter 
the  Society  of  Jesus. 

That  the  offering  might  be  more  complete  he  left  home,  and 
on  February  24th,    1869,  became  a  Jesuit  novice  in  Missouri. 


FATHER   TOIIN   V.   FRIEDEX,   S.    T. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         331 

From  1 87 1  to  1874  he  taught  in  the  St.  Louis  University,  then 
studied  philosophy  and  theology  in  Woodstock,  Maryland,  being 
ordained  by  Cardinal,  at  that  time  Archbishop  Gibbons,  on  April 
3rd,  1880.  Completing  his  course  in  1881,  he  was  stationed 
at  Detroit  College  for  three  years  as  Prefect  of  Studies  and  Disci- 
pline, teaching  philosophy  during  one  of  the  years.  In  July, 
1885,  he  became  President  of  Detroit  College,  and  on  January 
27th,  1889,  Provincial  of  the  Missouri  Province,  his  jurisdiction 
comprising  the  Western  States  of  the  Union.  On  being  relieved 
of  this  latter  charge,  he  was  employed  at  Florissant  in  the 
training  of  his  Jesuit  brethren  until  appointed  President  of  St. 
Ignatius  College  and  Superior  of  the  Californian  Mission ;  offices 
which  he  fills  at  the  college's  Golden  Jubilee. 

About  the  time  of  Father  Frieden's  return  from  Italy,  the 
fact  became  known  that  a  bequest  of  $100,000  had  been  made 
the  Fathers  in  the  will  of  Mrs.  Annie  Donohue,  widow  of  Peter 
Donohue,  and  had  been  refused  by  them. 

"It  is  not  every  day,"  says  a  daily  paper  of  the  time,  "that 
people  can  be  found  with  courage  enough  to  refuse  a  legacy  of 
$100,000;  no  matter  how  arduous  the  conditions  attached.  Still 
there  are  some  in  this  city,  the  trustees  of  St.  Ignatius  College 
being  among  the  number.  Under  the  will  of  the  late  Mrs. 
Annie  Donohue,  widow  of  Peter  Donohue,  there  was  left  to 
them  the  sum  of  $100,000,  to  be  used  in  the  founding  and  sup- 
porting for  the  benefit  of  Catholic  young  men,  a  library  to  be 
called,  in  memory  of  her  husband,  the  'Donohue  Library.' ' 

The  reasons  for  the  Fathers'  disinclination  to  accept  the 
legacy  are  well  set  forth  in  the  following  letter  of  Rev.  Father 
Frieden : 

"St.  Ignatius  College, 
San  Francisco,  May  20th,   1899. 
The  Editor  of  the  Examiner, 
Dear  Sir: 

As  the  public  has  learned  through  the  daily  press  that  the 
late  Mrs.  Donohue  bequeathed  $100,000  to  St.  Ignatius  College, 
in  trust,  to  provide  a  free  library  for  the  Catholic  young  men 
of   San   Francisco,   and   that  the  trustees  of  the  college   have 


332  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

refused  the  trust,  I  beg  to  be  allowed  to  state  the  reasons  of  this 
refusal. 

According  to  the  will,  the  trustees  were,  for  this  sum,  to 
furnish  a  site,  to  put  up  a  suitable  building,  to  equip  a  library, 
and  either  themselves  to  provide  for  its  support,  or  else  to  form 
a  society  for  this  purpose. 

Struggling  as  we  are  here  for  bare  existence,  it  is  clear  that 
we  could  not  take  upon  our  shoulders  the  additional  burden  of 
the  support  of  such  a  library,  even  supposing  that  it  could  have 
been  established  for  the  sum  bequeathed. 

The  alternative  of  forming  a  society  for  its  maintenance 
seemed  equally  impossible.  To  such  a  society  the  testatrix 
bequeathed  $5,000.  We  should,  therefore,  have  had  to  solicit 
further  subscriptions  to  a  considerable  amount,  in  order  to 
obtain  a  capital  of  which  the  income  would  be  sufficient  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  the  library.  This  would  be  to  divert  the  funds 
necessary  for  the  support  of  our  own  long-established  work  to 
a  new  one,  which,  though  most  excellent  in  itself,  could  not 
have  such  claims  upon  our  care. 

We  deeply  regret  that  the  condition  of  our  affairs  forbade 
us  to  undertake  the  charge  so  closely  connected  with  the  work 
of  education  in  which  we  are  engaged ;  and  hear,  with  unfeigned 
satisfaction,  that  Mrs.  Donohue's  benevolent  intentions  are  not 
likely  to  be  frustrated,  but  that  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop 
will,  in  all  probability,  assume  the  trust. 

Yours  respectfully, 

J.   P.   Frieden,  S.  J., 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  St.  Ignatius  College." 

The  idea  of  a  Catholic  library  for  San  Francisco  was  warmly 
advocated  as  early  as  1874  and  1875,  and  various  efforts  at 
the  time  were  made  to  give  the  library  existence.  It  was  to 
have  been  a  "Catholic  Hall  and  Free  Public  Library,"  and  the 
Monitor  of  May  2nd,  1874.  reports  the  plan  as  in  the  hands  of 
a  committee.  On  December  4th,  the  gentlemen  interested  in 
the  St.  Patrick's  Hall  and  Library  Association  met  in  Irish- 
American  Hall.  It  was  proposed  to  erect  a  building  to  cost 
$150,000.     Association  members  were  to  have  the  free  use  of 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         333 

the  hall.  The  public  might  use  the  library,  but  members  alone 
would  be  allowed  to  take  out  books.  The  hall  was  to  be  free  for 
all  Catholic  meetings  that  were  held  directly  under  the  auspices 
of  His  Grace,  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  and  to  all  Catholic 
asylums  for  fairs,  etc. 

A  fuller  study  of  the  subject  convinced  these  gentlemen  that 
even  $150,000  were  not  enough,  and  hence,  on  February  7th, 
1875,  we  find  that  the  sum  estimated  is  put  at  $250,000;  i.  e., 
$100,000  for  the  building;  $50,000  for  the  lot,  and  $100,000  for 
the  books.  There  were  to  be  10,000  shares  of  association  stock, 
purchasable  at  $25  a  share.  The  moving  spirit  of  the  enterprise 
was  Father  William  Gleeson  of  Oakland,  and  he  was  able  to 
report  that  485  shares  of  stock  had  been  taken  and  $4,625  raised. 
The  project  seems  to  have  rested  here.  On  April  15th,  ill  health 
obliged  Father  Gleeson  to  take  a  trip  to  Ireland.  He  returned 
in  early  December,  but  we  hear  no  more  of  hall  and  library. 

The  Fathers  in  the  present  case  could  not  have  done  other- 
wise than  they  did.  Had  they  accepted  the  trust  and  delayed 
to  carry  out  its  provisions,  people  would  have  asked,  "What  are 
the  Fathers  doing  with  the  money?"  Had  they  carried  out  the 
wishes  of  the  donor,  and,  owing  to  scarcity  of  funds,  given  poor 
service  in  the  library,  people  would  have  grumbled  that  the 
$100,000  had  been  poorly  spent.  A  hundred  thousand  dollars 
were  not  sufficient  to  ensure  a  proper  building,  books  and  service; 
the  Fathers  were  still  heavily  in  debt,  and  could  not  reasonably 
be  expected  to  assume  new  burdens;  hence,  the  only  honorable 
course  was  to  decline  the  trust,  and  this  they  did.  His  Grace, 
the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop,  kindly  assumed  the  obligation, 
hoping,  in  time,  to  bring  the  affair  to  a  successful  issue. 

The  new  members  of  the  faculty  this  year  were  Father 
William  Culligan  and  Messrs.  Henry  Fleuren,  Thomas  Galvin 
and  Joseph  Morton,  S.  J.  Father  Theodore  Sebastiani  had  come 
to  St.  Ignatius  on  account  of  his  health.  Father  John  Forhan 
had  become  Spiritual  Father  of  the  students  of  Santa  Clara ; 
Father  George  Butler  was  in  Florissant,  Missouri ;  Mr.  James 
Morrissey,  S.  J.,  at  Gonzaga  College,  Spokane. 

On  September  10th,  Father  Calzia  began  a  retreat  for  the 
members  of  the  Ladies'  Sodality.  The  exercises  were  held  in 
the  students'  chapel,  the  capacity  of  which,  at  night,  was  taxed 


334  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

to  the  utmost,  seven  hundred  members  attending.  Even  the 
mass  in  the  morning,  at  six  o'clock,  had  an  attendance  of  from 
two  to  three  hundred  persons,  an  excellent  index  both  of  the  zeal 
of  the  director  and  the  correspondence  of  the  Sodalists.  God 
alone  can  measure  the  benefits  to  religion  arising  from  the  pres- 
ence of  so  many  devoted  Christian  souls  in  the  Catholic  house- 
holds of  the  city.  Father  Frieden  was  unable  to  attend  the  clos- 
ing of  the  retreat,  for  business  called  him  on  the  16th  of  the 
month  to  Spokane,  and  he  returned  to  St.  Ignatius  only  on 
the  25th. 

Shortly  after,  the  Ladies'  Sodality  began  the  decoration  of 
the  students'  chapel,  which  its  members  were  now  using  as  their 
own.  For  several  years  back,  the  old  chapel  had  ceased  to  be 
used,  owing  to  the  rapid  increase  of  the  Sodality  under  Father 
Calzia.  On  April  18th,  1897,  he  had  received  seventy-five  postu- 
lants as  members;  on  May  30th,  sixty  more;  so  that  by  June 
27th,  1897,  the  chapel  was  too  crowded,  and  hence  it  was  pro- 
posed to  divide  the  Sodality.  As  this  proposition  did  not  meet 
with  favor,  the  exhibition  hall  of  the  college  was  used,  and  here 
again,  on  December  12th,  one  hundred  new  members  gave 
increased  life  and  vigor  to  the  organization.  But,  while  the  hall 
supplied  the  pressing  need  of  room,  it  lacked  the  sacred  asso- 
ciations so  dear  to  the  Sodality,  and  hence  the  officers  and  mem- 
bers gladly  accepted  the  use  of  the  students'  chapel,  and  set 
about  its  decoration.  The  daily  mass  of  the  college,  therefore, 
was  said  in  the  main  church,  the  students  occupying  the  pews 
in  front  of  St.  Joseph's  altar.  As  this  could  not  be  done  on 
Sundays  by  the  Students'  Sodalities,  they  met  in  the  chapel 
formerly  used  by  the  ladies. 

The  main  reason,  as  we  have  seen,  why  the  Fathers  had 
declined  to  accept  the  Donohue  bequest,  had  been  the  heavy 
debt  that  still  pressed  upon  them.  In  the  hope  that  ordinary 
sources  of  revenue  would  enable  them  to  bear  this  debt,  they 
had  dissolved  the  Ignatian  Society  as  soon  as  the  old  property 
on  Market  Street  had  been  disposed  of,  and  had  afterwards  dis- 
continued tuition  fees  in  the  college,  though  under  considerable 
expense  in  the  matter  of  salaries  paid  the  secular  professors.  A 
more  careful  examination  of  finances,  combined  with  experience, 
proved,  however,  that  they  must  abandon  such  hope.     The  debt 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         335 

was  increasing  and  hence,  on  October  5th,  much  to  their  regret, 
they  were  compelled  to  re-establish  the  Ignatian  Society  and 
appeal  to  their  friends.  We  are  happy  to  say  that  the  response 
was  noble  and  loyal.  The  Ignatian  Society  more  than  paid  the 
interest,  and  private  donations,  mainly  in  response  to  a  per- 
sonal appeal  of  Father  Varsi,  considerably  diminished  the 
principal.  With  such  support  the  outlook  became  more  and 
more  encouraging. 

1900 

The  closing  of  the  century  brought  with  it  more  than  its 
measure  of  gloom  to  St.  Ignatius.  In  early  February,  death 
carried  off  from  mourning  friends  and  family,  Mrs.  Alice 
Phelan,  an  esteemed  friend  of  the  institution.  The  funeral  took 
place  from  the  church  on  the  8th  of  the  month.  The  mass  was 
said  by  Rev.  Father  Frieden.  The  large  attendance  told  of 
the  popularity  of  this  truly  Christian  lady,  and  a  crowded 
sanctuary  bespoke  the  esteem  of  the  clergy. 

In  May,  the  Apostolic  Delegate,  Archbishop  Martinelli, 
paid  a  visit  to  our  city,  and  on  the  22nd  of  the  month  called 
on  the  Fathers  at  the  college.  The  occupations  of  a  hurried 
visit  did  not  permit  of  a  reception,  much  to  the  regret  of  the 
college  authorities. 

During  vacation,  Father  Henry  Woods  replaced  Father 
Edward  Allen  as  vice-president  of  the  college,  and  Father 
George  Butler  likewise  replaced  him  as  prefect  of  discipline. 
Father  John  Forhan  was  back  from  Santa  Clara,  and  Fathers 
Joseph  Mulligan  and  Joseph  Landry  with  Messrs.  Frederick 
Ruppert  and  Anthony  Villa,  S.  J.,  became  members  of  the 
faculty.  Father  Allen  devoted  himself  to  the  ministry.  Messrs. 
Charles  Carroll  and  Joseph  Morton,  S.  J.,  left  for  Spokane. 

The  month  of  July  called  two  away  to  a  better  life,  Father 
Theodore  Sebastian!  on  the  18th,  and  Father  Paul  Raffo  on 
the  27th.  The  former  was  forty-one  years  of  age,  and  had 
spent  twenty-three  as  a  Jesuit;  the  latter  was  eighty,  and  had 
been  a  Jesuit  sixty-one.  Father  Sebastiani  belonged  to  the 
Missouri  Province  and  came  to  California  when  consumption 
had  so  fastened  upon  his  system  that  he  seemed  to  be  in  the 
last   stages   of   the  dread   disease.      Still   with   his   indomitable 


336  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

courage  and  remarkable  patience,  for  Father  Sebastiani  was 
of  noted  sweetness  of  character,  he  managed  to  survive  for  about 
a  year  and  a  half.  This  cheerfulness  of  disposition  remained 
with  him  to  the  last,  and  he  passed  peacefully  to  the  rest  of  the 
just. 

Father  Paul  Raffo,  a  man  of  great  talent  and  deep  learning, 
was  esteemed  by  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him  as  an  excel- 
lent religious.  He  was  born  in  Genoa,  Italy,  on  July  19th, 
1 82 1,  and  became  a  Jesuit  on  October  27th,  1839.  After 
finishing  his  preparatory  studies,  he  taught  rhetoric  in  various 
Jesuit  colleges.  We  find  him  in  1851,  in  Laval  in  his  3rd  year 
of  theology.  Having  been  ordained  priest  and  having  finished 
his  theological  course,  he  was  sent  the  following  year  to  St. 
Beuno's,  Wales,  and  was  made  professor  of  Scripture  and  of 
Hebrew.  In  1854,  he  was  called  to  France  for  his  third  proba- 
tion, which  he  made  at  Notre  Dame  de  Liesse.  Another  year 
was  spent  at  Laval;  then  another  at  St.  Beuno's,  followed  by 
two  in  London  in  the  ministry;  so  that  it  was  not  until  1859 
that  he  came  to  California.  For  a  year  he  was  Master  of 
Novices  in  Santa  Clara;  then  for  a  year  assistant  pastor  at  St. 
Ignatius;  next  he  spent  two  years  laboring  in  San  Jose.  Ten 
years  followed  at  St.  Ignatius,  during  one  of  which  he  was 
Minister,  and  during  several  of  which  he  taught  mathe- 
matics and  directed  the  Sodality  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  In  1873, 
he  was  transferred  to  Santa  Clara  where  he  labored  as  parish 
priest  for  five  years  and  as  assistant  for  another  year,  until,  in 
1879,  we  find  him  in  Reno.  In  1880,  he  was  again  in  San  Fran- 
cisco and  worked  zealously  for  souls  until  his  death.  His 
straightforward,  upright  character  endeared  him  to  all,  for  he 
was  no  respecter  of  persons ;  and  while  never  forward  in  obtrud- 
ing an  opinion,  he  candidly  stated  his  opinion  just  as  he  had 
it,  whenever  he  was  asked.  He  was  of  remarkable  fertility  of 
thought,  so  that  he  sometimes  prepared  a  sermon  and  when 
the  time  for  preaching  came,  put  it  entirely  aside,  and  delivered 
one  made  up  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  and  on  a  totally  dif- 
ferent text. 

One  might  have  thought  that  with  these  trophies,  death 
would,  for  this  year  at  least,  be  satisfied;  but  such,  alas!  was 
not  to  be  the  case.     On  November  27th,  Father  Aloysius  Varsi 


ALTAR  OF  FORMER  CHAPEL  OF  THE   LADIES'   SODALITY 
LADIES'   SODALITY  LIBRARY 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        337 

received  from  it  the  dread  summons,  and  calmly  obeyed.  He 
had  been  ailing  for  some  time,  and  the  strain  that  for  so  many 
years  had  been  on  his  heart,  told  more  and  more  as  age 
advanced.  It  was  no  secret  to  him  that  the  end  was  near,  but 
the  end  was  only  rest  for  one  who  had  so  lived  that  he  was 
not  afraid  to  die.  About  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  he  received 
the  last  sacraments,  and  then  begged  pardon  of  those  around 
if  in  any  thing  he  had  ever  given  offense;  after  which,  with  a 
smile  upon  his  face,  he  bade  them  a  last  farewell  and  quietly 
awaited  the  end,  which  came  two  hours  later.  On  the  fol- 
lowing afternoon,  the  body  was  taken  to  the  Gentlemen's  Sodal- 
ity Chapel,  and  remained  there  until  Thursday  evening.  The 
remains  were  then  removed  to  the  church,  and  the  Office  for 
the  Dead  recited.  Next  morning,  the  mass  was  celebrated  by 
Rev.  Father  Frieden  in  the  presence  of  His  Grace,  the  Most 
Reverend  Archbishop,  and  a  numerous  body  of  the  clergy. 
Interment  was  in  Santa  Clara,  with  those  who  had  so  zealously 
labored  with  him  and  were  already  at  rest. 

Father  Aloysius  Varsi  was  born  at  Cagliari,  in  Sardinia, 
March  9th,  1830,  and  was  educated  at  the  College  of  St. 
Theresa  in  that  city.  On  May  2nd,  1845,  he  entered  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  and  after  the  usual  novitiate  and  preparatory 
studies,  he  was  sent  in  1850  to  Namur,  Belgium,  to  devote  him- 
self to  philosophy.  In  1852,  he  proceeded  to  Paris  for  a  spe- 
cial course  in  physics  and  higher  mathematics,  for  his  more 
than  ordinary  talent  was  duly  appreciated,  and,  two  years  later, 
he  was  appointed  to  teach  these  branches  at  Brugelette.  A 
year  spent  here  was  the  forerunner  to  three  spent  at  Laval. 
Here  in  the  chapel  of  the  episcopal  residence,  on  July  6th,  1856, 
he  received  sub-deaconship  from  His  Lordship,  Casimir 
Alexius  J.  Wicart,  Bishop  of  the  diocese.  On  the  13th 
of  the  month,  and  in  the  same  place,  he  was  made  deacon;  and 
a  week  later,  he  received  the  priesthood  in  the  chapel  of  the 
Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  in  Laval.  His  ordination  was 
doubtless  due  to  the  troubles  of  the  times,  for  we  find  him 
studying  his  theology  in  Louvain  from  1857  to  i860.  Thence 
he  came  to  Boston  to  complete  his  course.  In  1862,  he  began 
his    year    of    third    probation    in    Frederick,    Maryland,    after 


338  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

which  he  taught  physics  and  chemistry  for  a  year  in  Boston, 
then  for  a  year  in  Georgetown,  and  in  1865  came  to  California. 
Again  professor  of  the  sciences  at  Santa  Clara,  he  became 
president  of  the  college  on  January  6th,  1868,  and  continued 
in  office  until  December  26th,  1876.  During  his  incumbency 
he  devoted  all  his  energies  to  the  bettering  of  the  college,  and 
built,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  larger  students,  the  Dormi- 
tory and  Theater  building.  When  released  from  the  presi- 
dency he  came,  as  we  have  seen,  to  San  Francisco,  and  on 
October  2nd,  1877,  became  Superior  of  the  Mission.  The 
History  of  St.  Ignatius  College  from  that  time  is,  in  great 
part,  the  history  of  Father  Varsi.  He  was  a  great  man  in 
every  sense  of  the  word.  A  tall  commanding  presence  admir- 
ably suited  a  large  mind  and  a  larger  heart.  He  had  no  need 
to  seek  to  make  an  impression,  the  very  simplicity  of  his  man- 
ners bringing  out  into  more  striking  relief  the  real  greatness 
with  which  Nature  and  Grace  had  gifted  him. 

His  rare  prudence  made  him  a  favorite  counselor  with  his 
friends  and  one  never  felt  embarrassed  in  his  presence,  his 
patient  forbearance  preventing  him  from  giving  any  hint  that 
his  time  was  urgently  needed  by  pressing  business.  He  pre- 
ferred to  take  hours  from  his  sleep  rather  than  cause  pain  to 
those  that  confided  in  him.  His  trust  in  St.  Joseph  and  in 
Divine  Providence  was  deep  and  childlike;  and  though  severely 
tested  by  the  long  years  of  crushing  debt,  this  trust  came  forth 
from  the  trial  purified  and  intact;  the  heart  of  Father  Varsi 
had  never  faltered  in  its  confidence  that  the  issue  would  be  a 
happy  one. 

1901 

On  January  19th,  1901,  Fathers  Marshal  Boarman  and 
Eugene  Magaveney  arrived,  in  order  to  begin  on  the  27th 
a  mission  in  our  church.  The  mission  was  continued  for  two 
weeks  with  most  satisfactory  results. 

In  the  May  of  this  year,  our  city  was  honored  by  the  visit 
of  President  McKinley,  and  on  the  14th  of  the  month  a  grand 
procession  was  held  in  his  honor.  Of  all  the  decorations  in 
the  city,  those  of  the  college  were  probably  the  most  tasteful 
and  elaborate.     The  pupils  were  ranged  on  the  steps  and  bal- 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         339 

conies  of  the  building  and  gave  three  rousing  cheers  as  the 
President  passed.  To  mark  his  appreciation,  Mr.  McKinley 
stopped  his  carriage  and  gracefully  returned  the  salute  of  the 
young  men.  He  made  no  effort  to  conceal  his  pleasure,  and 
turned  several  times  to  look  back  and  admire  the  beauty  of  the 
buildings  in  their  festive  attire. 

The  yearly  exhibition,  besides  the  interest  which  such  an 
event  naturally  excites,  brought  with  it  a  pleasure  and  a  surprise 
in  the  scholarship  founded  by  Mrs.  Pescia  in  memory  of  her 
departed  husband,  Dr.  Joseph  Pescia,  an  old  graduate  of  the 
college.  "A  scholarship  in  the  college  course  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  dollars  a  year,  to  be  held  for  four  years,"  says  the 
catalogue,  "has  been  established  by  Mrs.  Regina  Anastasia 
Pescia  in  memory  of  her  husband,  the  late  Joseph  Pescia,  M.  D., 
A.  B.,  1875.  It  will  be  competed  for  immediately  after  the 
opening  of  the  term  i90i-'o2,  and,  for  this  occasion  only,  stu- 
dents actually  in  the  college  course  will  be  admitted  to  the 
competition,  as  well  as  those  just  entering  it."  Owen  McCann 
was  the  fortunate  competitor. 

A  year  later  two  other  scholarships  were  founded,  one, 
"The  President's  Scholarship,"  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
dollars  yearly,  by  a  friend  of  the  college  and  awarded  to 
Anthony  Smith;  the  other  a  scholarship  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  dollars  for  four  years,  given  by  Gerhard  Wempe,  Esq., 
was  awarded  to  Robert  F.  Snaer.  The  generosity  of  these  bene- 
factors was  emulated  the  following  year  by  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Tobin,  who  established  a  four  year's  scholarship  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  dollars,  Thomas  J.  Flaherty  being  the  first  to 
receive  it. 

In  September,  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Riordan,  conferred 
Holy  Orders  on  Mr.  Henry  Gabriel.  The  various  ceremonies 
were  performed  in  the  church  in  the  presence  of  a  large  gather- 
ing of  the  faithful.  The  first  mass  of  the  new  priest  was  sung 
on  the  29th,  with  Father  Joseph  Landry  as  deacon,  and  Mr. 
Patrick  Ryan,  S.  J.,  subdeacon.  Hundreds  of  the  congrega- 
tion came  after  mass  for  the  priestly  blessing,  which,  with  full 
heart,  Father  Gabriel  imparted. 

For  some  time  back,  inquiries  about  the  property  which 
the  Fathers  possessed  near  the  present  town  of  Richmond  had 


34Q 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


become  more  frequent,  and  propositions  began  to  be  made  to 
Rev.  Father  Frieden  in  reference  to  its  purchase.  The  tract 
was  of  some  804  acres,  of  practically  little  or  no  agricultural 
value,  but  a  tract  rapidly  acquiring  a  commercial  one  from 
its  proximity  to  the  Santa  Fe  terminal,  the  plant  of  the  Standard 
Oil  Co.  and  similar  business  properties,  which  marked  the  site 
as  a  future  factor  in  trade. 

It  was  a  part  of  the  famous  San  Pablo  Rancho,  which,  for 
half  a  century  occupied  the  courts  of  California,  and  is  said 
to  have  cost  half  a  million  of  dollars  in  legal  fees  before  the 
case  was  finally  settled.  The  Rancho  was  known  as  Los 
Cuchigunes  or  Cuchillones,  or  Rancho  de  San  Pablo,  and  was 
situated  on  the  bays  of  San  Francisco  and  San  Pablo  in  the 
county  of  Contra  Costa,  and  comprised  17,938.59  acres. 

The  land  originally  belonged  to  the  Mission  of  San  Francisco, 
as  we  learn  from  the  petition  of  Francisco  Maria  Castro  made 
to  the  Government  of  California  on  April  15th,  1823,  in  which 
he  asked  that  he  be  granted  the  possession  of  "three  square 
leagues  (sitios)  in  the  place  called  'Los  Cuchigunes'  or  'San 
Pablo,'  formerly  occupied  by  the  Mission  of  San  Francisco, 
and  lying  opposite  to  said  Mission  and  the  port  of  said  name 
and  upon  its  shores.'  " 

The  request  was  granted  on  the  same  day,  but  Francisco 
Castro  died  on  November  5th,  1831,  without  succeeding  in 
obtaining  the  legal  transfer  of  the  property.  His  son  Joaquin, 
however,  obtained  the  desired  document  on  June  12th,  1834, 
for  the  common  benefit  of  his  father's  heirs,  and  on  the  20th  of 
August,  the  year  following,  obtained  an  augmentation  of 
another  square  league.  Thus  far  all  went  well  with  the  widow, 
Gabriela  Berreyesa  de  Castro  and  her  ten  children.  But  trou- 
bles came,  as  troubles  will,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  Mexican 
occupancy  of  California,  the  Castros  and  Alvarados  were  in 
litigation  over  the  property.  Then  came  the  American  settlers, 
and  many  of  the  descendents  of  Don  Francisco  transferred  their 
rights  for  a  mess  of  pottage;  and  with  such  a  number  of  inter- 
ests and  variety  of  transactions,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  a  legal  tangle  was  the  result,  of  which  it  has  been  said  that, 
"To  tell  the  judges  before  whom  this  case  had  appeared,  in  one 


FATHER  GEORGE  BUTLER,  S.  J. 
FATHER  JOSEPH  HICKEY,  S.  J. 


FATHER  HENRY   WOODS,  S.  J. 
FATHER  BARTHOLOMEW  CALZ1A,  S.  J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        341 

way  or  another,  it  would  be  necessary  to  write  the  biographies 
of  all  the  jurists  who  have  occupied  the  bench  in  this  city  since 
the  American  occupation  of  California.  Nearly  every  lawyer 
of  note  in  the  State,  both  living  and  dead,  has  had  a  hand  in 
the  case." 

On  November  27th,  1857,  Mr.  William  O'Connell  acquired 
a  one-third  interest  in  1,250  acres  of  the  property  and  the  cor- 
responding title  to  any  amount  of  legal  trouble.  In  later  days 
he  became  financially  embarrassed  and  received  help  from 
Father  Maraschi.  In  return  he  made  the  following  bequest: 
"I  give,  devise,  and  bequeath  to  Father  Maraschi,  now 
residing  in  San  Francisco,  the  whole  of  the  real  estate  I  now 
claim  or  own  in  the  County  of  Contra  Costa  in  this  State,  but 
as  the  same  is  now  in  litigation,  I  direct  that  no  part  of  the 
cost  of  expenses  of  said  litigation,  whether  present  or  future, 
shall  be  paid  by  or  become  a  charge  upon  my  estate,  real  or 
personal,  and  upon  the  express  condition  that  Father  Maraschi 
or  the  parties  hereafter  named  as  cestuy  que  trust  shall  cause 
to  be  paid  all  the  necessary  expenses  of  said  litigation."  Mr. 
O'Connell  died  in  September,  1881.  The  famous  decision  of 
the  Hon.  Samuel  H.  Dwindle,  Judge  of  the  Fifteenth  District 
Court,  a  decision  from  which  we  have  taken  the  brief  account 
that  we  have  given  of  the  property,  paved  the  way  for  a  final 
distribution.  This  was  made  in  1893  among  some  270  claim- 
ants. Father  Maraschi  had  meanwhile  acquired  more  interests 
in  the  ranch,  mainly  through  the  will  of  Michael  Hartnett.  He 
received,  therefore,  five  pieces  of  land.  The  first  contained 
501.05  acres;  the  second,  56.08  acres;  the  third,  0.21  acres;  the 
fourth,  244.96  acres;  the  fifth,  19.55  acres.  Father  Maraschi 
set  a  high  value  on  the  property;  as  is  well  known  by  those 
who  for  years  conversed  with  him,  and  by  the  fact  that  he  spent 
much  money  in  law  to  defend  his  title.  To  struggle  for  years 
at  great  expense  for  barren  hills  from  which  no  return  was 
expected,  was  not  the  character  of  Father  Maraschi.  More- 
over, he  had  more  than  once  expressed  his  conviction  to  many, 
that  the  town  of  San  Pablo  would  ultimately  establish  itself 
where  Richmond  now  is.    His  foresight  in  the  main  was  correct, 


342  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

though  it  was  not  the  old  town  that  transferred  itself,  but  the 
new  that  took  advantage  of  the  situation. 

Owing  to  the  general  increase  in  the  value  of  property  in 
the  neighborhood  and  prudent  management,  on  the  17th  of 
October  the  preliminaries  of  a  sale  were  agreed  upon  for 
$200,000,  and  a  deposit  of  $10,000  was  made  by  the  purchasers. 
The  transaction  was  completed  on  the  31st  of  the  same  month, 
and  St.  Ignatius,  after  a  struggle  of  forty-six  years,  was  out  of 
debt.  On  November  3rd,  the  public  announcement  of  the  sale 
was  made,  and  the  Ignatian  Society  which  had  been  re-estab- 
lished to  enable  us  to  pay  our  interest,  was  dissolved. 

1902. 
The  year  1902  opened  with  the  arrival  of  Father  Henry 
Bontempo  of  the  Venetian  Province.  He  had  come  at  the 
earnest  request  of  His  Grace,  the  Most  Reverend  Archbishop, 
to  attend  to  the  spiritual  necessities  of  the  various  branches  of 
the  Slav  race  in  San  Francisco.  Missionary  life  was  not  new 
to  him,  for  he  had  spent  many  years  in  it  in  Albania  and  the 
adjoining  countries.  With  all  earnestness  he  set  to  work,  and, 
on  January  12th,  called  the  Slavonians  together  for  mass  in  the 
students'  chapel,  which  the  college  had  kindly  placed  at  His 
disposal.  The  number  attending  mass  was  about  three  hun- 
dred; the  number  estimated  to  be  in  the  city  is  about  five  thou- 
sand, mainly  from  Dalmatia,  Istria,  Croatia,  Slavonia  and 
Carniola.  But,  scattered  as  the  Slavonians  are  all  over  San 
Francisco,  it  is  naturally  difficult  to  bring  them  together.  On 
February  7th,  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Riordan,  addressed  the 
congregation  of  Father  Bontempo,  exhorting  them  to  erect  a 
church  for  themselves,  and  promising  every  assistance  in  his 
power.  The  result  was  eventually  the  present  Church  of  the 
Nativity  on  Fell  Street,  between  Gough  and  Franklin,  the 
cornerstone  of  which  was  laid  on  Rosary  Sunday,  October  4th, 

1903.  Father  Bontempo  was  at  this  time  no  longer  the  pastor 
of  the  congregation,  for,  some  months  previously,  he  had 
handed  over  the  charge  to  Father  Francis  Turk,  a  secular  priest. 
He  continued,  however,  to  take  great  interest  in  the  work  and 
to  afford  whatever  assistance  was  in  his  power.     On  June  6th, 

1904,  the  building  was  blessed  by  Bishop  Stariha  of   Lead, 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         343 

Dakota.  Father  Bontempo,  relieved  from  the  care  of  the 
Slavonian  congregation,  was  left  free  for  missions  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  and  in  them  he  has  been  zealously  engaged 
ever  since.     But  we  must  return  to  1902. 

On  January  29th,  the  pupils  of  the  elocution  classes,  under 
the  direction  of  Father  Henry  Woods,  presented  "Richelieu" 
upon  the  college  stage.  The  audience  was  large,  and  the 
applause  given  was  well  merited  by  the  young  actors.  Nor 
was  this  the  first  appearance  of  these  classes  in  the  better 
sort  of  drama.  On  January  31st,  1900,  "Macbeth"  had  been 
excellently  rendered,  and  a  year  later  "Julius  Caesar."  In  1903, 
"Richard  III"  was  presented;  and  in  1905,  "Henry  V." 

In  the  early  part  of  March,  Father  Henry  Imoda  had 
become  so  ill,  that  even  the  light  labor  which  had  been  con- 
fided to  him  was  beyond  his  strength,  and  Father  Calzia  was 
appointed  to  relieve  him.  He  still  lingered  on,  however,  until 
May  1 2th,  when  death  came  to  put  an  end  to  his  sufferings. 

Father  Imoda  was  a  man  of  delicate  conscience  and  a  lover 
of  religious  rule.  Of  strict  observance  in  his  own  life,  he 
exacted  a  similar  observance  from  others.  His  motives  were 
ever  of  the  purest,  and  he  lived  and  died  respected  by  all. 

He  was  born  in  Turin,  Italy,  on  the  eve  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception,  183 1,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus  on  March  23rd,  1850.  He  entered  the  Jesuit  Novitiate 
in  Naples,  whither  he  had  gone  while  yet  quite  young.  After 
his  two  years  of  Novitiate  he  was  sent  to  teach  in  the  college 
of  Aquila,  where  he  remained  for  four  years.  He  then  taught 
two  years  at  Benevento,  and  afterwards  studied  theology  pri- 
vately in  the  same  college  for  two  years  more.  In  1859,  he 
taught  another  year  in  the  College  of  Nobles  at  Naples  and 
was  ordained  priest  in  i860.  In  that  year  the  Neapolitan 
Province  was  dispersed  by  political  troubles,  and  Father  Imoda 
went  to  Turin  to  continue  the  study  of  theology  privately. 
He  devoted  the  following  year  to  the  same  study  in  Lyons, 
and,  in  1862,  began  his  third  probation  at  Monaco.  Here  he 
remained  afterwards  as  prefect  in  the  college  until  1867,  when, 
as  we  have  already  seen  in  our  history,  he  came  to  California 
with  Father  Ponte,  the  intention  being  that  he  should  labor 


344  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  His  life  from  that  time  is  already 
fairly  known.  When  not  in  St.  Ignatius  he  was  Minister  in 
Santa  Clara;  and  when  relieved  from  superiorship  in  1896, 
he  was  broken  in  health,  though  he  continued  to  be  Spiritual 
Father  and  librarian  almost  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
was  an  excellent  rubricist,  and  for  many  years  arranged  the 
calendar  for  the  Archdiocese.  In  fact,  even  as  early  as  1866, 
while  in  Monaco,  we  find  a  similar  task  assigned  him.  His 
body  was  conveyed  to  Santa  Clara  and  laid  by  the  side  of  those 
of  his  Jesuit  brethren. 

The  catalogue  of  the  present  year  mentions  the  College 
Glee  Club.  It  was  organized  by  Father  Joseph  De  Rop  in 
September,  1901,  a  month  after  he  had  established  the  St. 
Cecilia  Choral  Society. 

At  the  closing  exercises  an  announcement  was  made  that, 
commencing  with  the  coming  August,  a  class  of  bookkeeping 
and  stenography  would  be  introduced,  free  to  all  who,  desirous 
of  pursuing  these  studies,  were  sufficiently  advanced  to  do  so. 
By  the  introduction  of  these  classes  it  was  intended  to  supply 
the  elements  of  a  business  education  without  in  any  way  detract- 
ing from  the  purely  classical  course  which  had  long  obtained 
in  the  college. 

On  June  19th,  Father  Joseph  Landry  succeeded  Father 
Bartholomew  Calzia  as  Minister.  Shortly  afterwards,  Fathers 
Anthony  Arnalot,  Patrick  Foote,  William  Culligan,  Angelo 
Coltelli,  with  Messrs.  Thomas  Hogan,  Patrick  Ryan  and 
Anthony  Villa,  S.  J.,  were  detached  from  the  staff  of  St. 
Ignatius.  To  supply  their  places  came  Fathers  Henry  Gabriel, 
Gregory  Leggio,  Joseph  Francis,  John  Ford,  Joseph  De  Rop, 
with  Messrs.  Frederick  Ruppert  and  John  Hayes,  S.  J.  Father 
Francis  X.  Agreda,  S.  J.,  arrived  toward  the  end  of  September. 

In  the  beginning  of  August  the  authorities  of  the  college 
decided  upon  the  re-establishment  of  the  Alumni  Association, 
an  organization  that  had  been  dormant  for  many  years.  Steps 
leading  to  this  end  were  accordingly  taken,  and  the  project 
was  brought  to  a  successful  termination  on  November  nth. 
Much  enthusiasm  was  shown  on  the  occasion,  as  also  at  the 
yearly  reunions  since;  let  us  hope  that  it  may  be  lasting,  to  the 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         345 

mutual  honor  of  the  Alumni  and  of  Alma  Mater.  Hon.  J.  F. 
Sullivan,  A.  M.,  ,f]2,  was  elected  president,  and  Mr.  John  A. 
Hicks,  A.  B.,  '71,  vice-president.  The  fact  that  Mr.  Sullivan  has 
always  been  president  of  the  Association,  as  well  during  its 
existence  in  the  Eighties,  as  during  the  period  of  its  more  recent 
activity,  speaks  well  for  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is 
deservedly  held  by  his  fellow  graduates. 

On  the  5th  of  November,  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  at  the 
ripe  age  of  eighty-three,   Father   Burchard  Villiger  ended  his 
earthly  labors.  He  was  born  on  May  14th,  18 19,  at  Au  in  Switzer- 
land.   His  early  education  was  received  in  his  parish  school  and  in 
the  Benedictine  Monastery  at  Muri.     When  fifteen  years  of  age 
he  entered  the  Jesuit  College  at  Schwitz,  to  pass  thence  to  the 
Novitiate,  on  October  4th,   1838.     After  his  Jesuit  preliminary 
studies,  he  was,  for  two  years,  first  prefect  in  Schwitz,  and  then 
entered  upon  his  theological  studies  at  Freiburg.    On  November 
9th,  1847,  he  was  obliged  with  his  brethren  to  fly  from  the  city; 
as   later,    from   Chambery,    Savoy,   owing  to  the  anti-Catholic 
hatred  of  the  revolutionists.    On  May  8th,  1848,  he  was  ordered 
to  Antwerp,  Belgium,  to  sail  for  the  United  States,  and  started 
on  his  voyage  to  America  on  June  1st.     Two  years  at  George- 
town, one  at  St.  Joseph's,  Philadelphia;  a  year  of  third  probation; 
another,  as  Minister  of  Georgetown,  and  on  August  15th,  1854, 
he  is  made  president  of  St.  John's  College,  Frederick.     In  1857, 
he  is  president  of  Washington  College;  and  on  April  25th,  1858, 
he  is  made  Provincial  of  the  Maryland  Province,  with  residence 
at  Georgetown.     On  April  19th,  1861,  he  starts  for  the  Pacific 
Coast  as  president  of  Santa  Clara  College  and  Superior  of  the 
Calif ornian  Mission.     On  December  7th,    1866,  he  is  back  in 
New  York;  and  in  March,  1868,  is  selected  to  build  the  Gesu 
in  Philadelphia.     In  this,  the  crowning  of  his  lifework,  he  spent 
about  a  quarter  of  a  century.     In  1893,  he  is  Instructor  of  his 
Jesuit  brethren  at  Frederick,  Maryland,  then,  president  of  Wood- 
stock College,  retaining  to  the  end  of  his  life,  the  fatherly  heart 
that  had   ever   sweetened  his   rule.      Relieved   of   superiorship, 
owing  to  age  and  increasing  infirmities,  he  calmly  awaited  his 
call  to  a  better  life.     Of  him  the  saying  was  true,  "He  touched 


346  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

nothing  that  he  did  not  adorn";  and  wherever  he  was,  he  left 
memorials  of  his  zeal  and  energy. 

On  November  25th,  the  college  orchestra  gave  its  annual 
concert.  It  had  been  organized  in  August,  1898,  by  Father 
Edward  Allen,  and  had  already  won  for  itself  high  praise  on 
many  preceding  occasions.  It  is  composed  of  such  students 
of  the  college  as  are  sufficiently  proficient,  and  of  other  good 
amateur  musicians  who  are  desirous  of  the  self-improvement 
which  necessarily  results  from  such  an  organization.  Labor 
and  self-sacrifice  combined  with  ability  and  tact,  are  urgently 
called  for  in  one  who  would  perpetuate  such  an  orchestra  and 
render  it  efficient,  and  its  continued  success  is  a  flattering  trib- 
ute to  those  qualities  in  its  present  director. 

With  the  end  of  the  year,  athletics  in  St.  Ignatius  had  taken 
a  forward  step  in  the  completion  of  the  handball  alleys.  The 
wall  and  part  of  the  sides  had  been  built  in  the  previous  July, 
and  for  three  weeks,  towards  the  close  of  December,  the  car- 
penters had  been  busy  on  roof  and  remaining  sides.  The  courts 
are  two  in  number,  a  single  and  a  double  one,  of  excellent 
material  and  corresponding  workmanship. 

1903. 

Already  in  December,  1899,  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  had 
obtained  permission  to  use,  as  a  gymnasium,  several  rooms  in 
the  college  basement,  and  had  fitted  them  up  with  suitable 
apparatus.  Here  the  younger  members  of  the  Sodality  met  for 
social  intercourse  and  healthful  exercise.  When,  therefore,  it 
became  known,  in  November,  1902,  that  the  college  had  deter- 
mined to  erect  a  gymnasium  for  its  students,  the  Sodality 
proposed  that  a  joint  gymnasium  be  built,  the  expenses  to  be 
borne  by  both  college  and  Sodality.  The  idea  was  favorably 
considered,  plans  were  formed  and  approved,  and  on  February 
2nd,  1903,  after  assisting  at  mass,  the  students  repaired  to  the 
college  lot  on  Franklin  Street,  there  to  assist  at  the  beginning 
of  the  work. 

"A  modern  gymnasium,"  says  a  prospectus  published  soon 
afterwards,  "was  contemplated  by  the  college  authorities  early 
in    the    present    term;     .     .     .     when    the    members    of  the 


IJn 

g— \  | 

^Bb^**r7*^'f:;*— nH 

wSmk'**'-^ 

ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         347 

Gentlemen's  Sodality,  through  their  director,  Rev.  Joseph 
Hickey,  S.  J.,  offered  to  co-operate  with  the  college  in  the  work 
it  had  undertaken.  The  proposal  was  received  favorably,  and 
.  .  plans  were  drawn.  .  .  .  These  call  for  hand- 
ball courts  and  a  bath  section,  together  with  the  gymnasium 
building  proper,  in  which  a  billiard-room,  a  reading-room,  a 
bowling  alley,  a  plunge  bath,  and  a  locker-room  are  con- 
veniently situated. 

Construction  was  begun  at  once  upon  the  hand-ball  courts, 
and  they  have  been  in  use  since  December  26th.  They  are 
complete  in  every  respect.     .     .     . 

The  first  ground  was  broken  Monday,  February  2nd,  1903, 
by  Very  Rev.  John  P.  Frieden,  S.  J.,  president  of  the  college, 
with  informal  ceremonies.  Father  Frieden  addressed  the  students 
and  their  friends  present,  announcing  the  purpose  of  the  college 
authorities  in  the  erection  of  the  buildings,  and  remarking  the 
opportuneness  of  the  present  time  for  their  erection.  Mr. 
Joseph  R.  Crowley,  vice-president  of  the  Athletic  Association, 
followed  Rev.  Father  Frieden,  accepting  the  gift  gratefully  as 
spokesman  of  the  students  of  the  college.  The  vice-president 
of  the  college,  Rev.  Henry  Woods,  S.  J.,  next  spoke,  'hoping 
much,'  he  said,  'for  the  physical  development  of  the  students 
from  the  new  gymnasium.'  Work  was  begun  the  next  day  on 
the  bath  section. 

The  bath  section  measures  over  all  60x25  feet,  and  will 
contain  9  showers  and  needle  baths,  as  well  as  tubs  and  lava- 
tories, to  all  of  which  will  be  fed  salt  and  fresh  water,  both  hot 
and  cold.  The  floor  and  walls  of  this  section  will  be  tiled  in 
white  vitreous  tile,  and  the  partitions  between  the  baths  will  be 
of  Tennessee  marble — a  necessary  provision  against  the  corro- 
sion and  flaking  caused  by  salt  water.  Immediately  adjoining 
the  baths  will  be  the  lockers  provided  for  the  students  of  the 
college;  each  student  being  assigned  a  locker  for  his  private  use. 
The  portions  already  described,  courts  and  bath  section, 
stand  without  the  gymnasium  proper.  This  building  rests  on 
concrete  foundations,  sunk  12  feet  below  the  street  level.  Its 
front,  on  Franklin  Street,  will  be  of  brick  cemented,  as  are  the 
other  college  buildings;  its  general  style,   however,   is  rather 


348  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

more  severely  classical  in  treatment.  The  gymnasium  floor  will 
be  reached  from  the  main  entrance  through  a  vestibule,  15x15 
feet,  laid  in  marble  mosaic.  From  the  right  of  the  vestibule,  a 
stairway  descends  to  the  locker-room,  bowling  alley,  billiard- 
room,  reading-room,  and  plunge.  On  the  left  is  the  gymnasium 
office,  and  adjoining  it,  a  stairway  mounting  to  the  visitors' 
gallery  which  stands  12  feet  off  the  gymnasium  floor.  There 
are  approximately  10,000  square  feet  covered  by  the  gymnasium 
floor,  and  the  roof  over  it  is  35  feet  high.  In  the  gymnasium 
will  be  found  all  the  apparatus  necessary  to  equip  it  perfectly, 
and  proposals  looking  to  its  installment  are  at  present  being 
received.  A  physician's  office  adjoins  the  main  entrance,  it 
being-  intended  that  the  students  submit  to  examinations  at  the 
beginning  and  during  their  course,  that  the  work  of  physical 
culture  may  be  gone  at  wisely,  and  no  part  that  is  structurally 
weak  be  exposed  to  undue  strain.  Next  to  the  physician's 
office  are  the  rooms  of  the  Instructor,  to  whom  the  entire 
superintendence  of  the  work  of  the  pupils  will  be  given.  A 
running  track  of  21  laps,  partly  suspended  from  the  roof  girders 
by  iron  rods,  and  19  feet  off  the  floor,  will  be  reached  by  a  spiral 
stairway  in  the  southeast  corner,  and  by  two  others  in  the  west 
end;  the  whole  will  be  magnificently  lighted  by  large  skylights 
in  the  roof,  and  pivoted  windows  above  and  below  the  running 
track.  In  the  west  end  will  be  the  bicycle  room.  A  stairway 
leads  down  from  the  gymnasium  to  the  locker  section,  in 
which,  room  will  be  found  for  1,500  lockers,  each  perfectly 
ventilated.  From  the  locker-room  is  but  a  step  to  the  plunge, 
which  will  be  50x15  feet,  and  will  vary  from  9  to  5  feet  in 
depth.  .  .  .  This  room  will  also  be  tiled;  the  borders 
about  the  plunge  being  8  and  9  feet  where  widest.  On  the 
locker  floor,  at  the  east  end,  are  the  reading-room  and  billiard- 
room;  in  the  former,  all  the  prominent  American,  Irish  and 
English  Catholic  journals  will  be  kept  on  file.  The  billiard-room 
will  contain  5  new  tables.  South  of  the  locker-room  and  ex- 
tending along  the  south  wall  of  the  building,  will  be  two 
bowling  alleys  of  the  best  construction. 

The  building  will  have  a  total  frontage  on  Franklin  Street 
of  145  feet,  and  a  depth  of  105.     Its  cost,  to  be  defrayed  by  the 


READING-ROOM   OF   GYMNASIUM 
SWIMMING  TANK 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         349 

joint  contribution  of  the  college,  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality,  and 
the  Students'  Athletic  Association,  will  be  about  $20,000." 

The  intention  to  limit  the  expense  to  $20,000,  like  most 
good  intentions,  underwent  generous  modifications  in  the 
execution,  for  it  was  the  desire  of  the  college  to  have  the  gym- 
nasium perfect  in  its  order,  and  the  cost  intended  was  doubled 
and  over,  before  the  building  was  opened  on  the  30th  of 
September. 

Two  weeks  after  the  starting  of  the  gymnasium  a  reception 
was  given  by  the  students  to  His  Grace,  Most  Reverend  Arch- 
bishop Montgomery,  the  newly  appointed  Coadjutor  of  the 
Archdiocese.  It  was  only  the  welcoming  back  of  an  old  friend, 
and  the  addresses  were  made  in  English,  French,  German  and 
Spanish,  to  show  the  varied  accomplishments  of  the  young 
men,  and  to  represent,  we  suppose,  the  varied  nationalities  over 
which  an  American  prelate  is  called  to  preside.  The  Arch- 
bishop answered  in  a  happy  speech  and  granted  what  is  ever 
dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  students,  a  holiday. 

Lent  soon  arrived  and  those  whom  piety  led  to  attend 
morning  mass  or  evening  devotions,  noticed  that  work  was 
progressing  on  a  beautiful  shrine  under  the  western  tower 
of  the  church,  off  the  vestibule  near  Saint  Aloysius'  Altar.  It 
was  the  shrine  of  St.  Ann  and  the  gift  of  Mr.  Edward  Le 
Breton.  Holy  Saturday,  April  nth,  saw  the  work  completed, 
and  after  mass,  a  fit  prelude  to  the  joy  of  Eastertide,  the  statue 
was  solemnly  blessed.  It  is  no  slight  praise  for  shrine  and 
statue  to  say  of  them,  that  in  richness  and  in  artistic  elegance 
they  are  on  a  par  with  the  other  ornaments  of  the  church.  A 
few  days  later,  Mr.  James  Malone,  S.  J.,  a  former  pupil  of  the 
new  St.  Ignatius,  received  in  our  church,  subdeaconship, 
deaconship  and  the  priesthood  from  His  Grace,  Archbishop 
Montgomery.  He  celebrated  the  holy  sacrifice  for  the  first 
time  on  April  17th,  in  the  presence  of  numerous  friends  and 
relatives. 

May  brought  with  it  to  our  city  the  head  of  the  body 
politic,  President  Roosevelt,  who  was  soon  followed  by  His 
Excellency,  Most  Rev.  Diomede  Falconio,  D.  D.,  Apostolic 
Delegate   to   the   United   States.      The   solemn   procession   in 


350  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

honor  of  the  former  was  held  on  May  12th;  the  later,  two  days 
afterwards,  dined  with  the  Fathers,  and  visited  church  and 
college.  He  expressed  much  pleasant  surprise,  regretting, 
however,  that  the  vacations  granted  in  honor  of  the  President's 
visit,  deprived  him  of  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  students. 

On  July  1 6th,  Father  Joseph  Landry  ceased  to  be  Minister, 
and  Father  Henry  Whittle  succeeded  him.  In  the  college 
changes  which  took  place  soon  after,  Father  Joseph  Mulligan 
and  Father  Joseph  De  Rop  went  to  San  Jose;  Mr.  John  Hayes 
to  Santa  Clara ;  Mr.  Henry  Fleuren  to  Woodstock,  Maryland.  A 
little  earlier,  Father  Francis  Agreda  had  departed  for  St.  Louis, 
and  earlier  still,  Father  Henry  Gabriel,  owing  to  ill  health,  had 
gone  to  Santa  Clara.  For  like  reasons,  in  the  fall  of  the  year, 
Father  Gregory  Leggio  left  for  Seattle.  The  new  members 
of  the  faculty  are :  Father  Joseph  Riordan  and  Messrs.  Charles 
Carroll,  John  Laherty,  James  Hayes,  John  Madden,  and  Felix 
Rossetti,  S.  J. 

On  July  20th,  the  announcement  was  made  of  the  death  of 
our  Holy  Father,  Pope  Leo  XIII,  and  the  bell  of  the  church 
in  sad  unison  with  those  of  the  other  churches  in  the  city 
spread  the  news  abroad.  Decorators  were  immediately  set  to 
work  to  drape  the  church  in  black,  and  succeeded  in  producing 
an  effect  strikingly  impressive.  A  magnificent  catafalque 
ornamented  with  the  insignia  of  the  papacy  and  the  pontiff's 
coat  of  arms,  was  erected  near  the  altar  rail,  and,  by  the  beauty 
of  its  proportions  and  its  perfect  harmony  with  its  surround- 
ings, drew  forth  many  a  word  of  praise  from  the  thousands 
that  congregated  to  do  honor  to  our  common  Father.  A 
Solemn  Requiem  Mass  was  celebrated,  on  the  21st,  for  the  repose 
of  the  pontiff's  soul,  but  the  chief  celebration  was  reserved  for 
Sunday,  the  26th.  At  the  Solemn  High  Mass  celebrated  by 
Rev.  Father  Frieden,  Father  Henry  Woods  drew  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  noble  life  of  Pope  Leo,  and,  in  the  evening,  Father 
Dionysius  Mahony  to  equally  dense  crowds  presented  the  dead 
pontiff  as  "The  World's  Peacemaker."  The  celebration  was, 
indeed,  a  memorable  one  from  every  point  of  view. 

October  brought  in  its  train  a  far  different  scene  when  the 
members    of    the    Alumni    Association    gathered    around    the 


HIS   EXCELLENCY,  MOST   REV.   DIOMEDE  FALCONIO, 
APOSTOLIC   DELEGATE 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         351 

festive  board  to  become  reminiscent  of  college  days.  The 
meeting  was  a  notable  one,  and  was  made  up  of  men  who  have 
already  achieved  success  in  the  various  walks  of  life. 

"In  the  Marble-room  of  the  Palace  Hotel  last  evening," 
(October  8th),  says  a  paper  of  the  day,  "130  graduates  of  St. 
Ignatius  College  enjoyed  a  most  delightful  banquet  under  the 
auspices  of  their  Alumni  Association.  The  banquet  hall  was 
appropriately  decorated  for  the  occasion,  and  there  was  music 
by  a  stringed  orchestra  throughout  the  evening.  Dr.  A.  H. 
Giannini  was  the  toastmaster,  and  he  was  very  happy  in  his 
introduction  of  the  various  speeches,  after  the  serving  of  the 
menu.  The  formal  programme  opened  with  a  toast  to  Pope 
Pius  X,  the  company  standing  while  the  toast  was  drunk. 
In  the  same  manner,  there  was  a  toast  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  The  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Montgomery, 
in  an  address  on  'The  Church,'  was  received  with  enthusiasm, 
and  he  held  the  attention  of  the  banqueters  closely  as  he  spoke 
about  the  mission  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Following 
the  Archbishop's  address  came  the  speech  on  The  Faculty 
of  St.  Ignatius  College,'  by  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Frieden,  S.  J.;  Peter 
F.  Dunne,  one  of  the  graduates  back  in  the  Seventies,  had 
as  his  toast,  'Our  Country.'  Joseph  S.  Tobin  talked  pertinently 
on  'California,'  and  George  A.  Connolly  on  'St.  Ignatius  Col- 
lege.' The  last  address  of  the  evening  was  by  Hon.  J.  F.  Sul- 
livan on  'The  Alumni  Association.'  " 

But  festivities  were  not  for  the  Alumni  alone;  at  Christmas- 
tide  the  Francesca  Society  distributed  its  gifts  and  the  training- 
school  had  its  Christmas  tree. 

"There  were  yesterday  no  happier  children  anywhere," 
says  the  account  of  the  event,  "than  the  240  who  comprise 
the  training-school  conducted  in  the  basement  of  St.  Ignatius 
Church  by  a  number  of  earnest  women,  directed  by  Mrs.  E.  W. 
McKinstry.  This  school,  in  which  the  girls  are  taught  sewing 
and  cooking,  and  in  which  the  co-operation  of  mothers  is 
secured,  has  almost  doubled  during  the  past  year.  The  rooms, 
and  the  light,  and  heat,  are  given  to  the  cause  by  the  Fathers 
of  St.  Ignatius,  who  address  the  children  from  time  to  time 


352  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

as  their  work  permits.  All  of  the  teachers  give  their  services 
free.  Material  for  work  is  donated,  and,  with  yearly  dues  from 
the  subscribing  members,  the  enterprise  is  carried  on  most 
successfully.  Yesterday  there  was  a  brightly  dressed  Christmas 
tree  and  a  programme  fitting  the  occasion." 

1904. 

In  the  middle  of  February,  1904,  the  organ  newly  installed 
in  the  Students'  Chapel  by  the  Ladies'  Sodality  was  used  for 
the  first  time.  It  had  been  purchased  from  the  Paulist  Fathers 
of  the  city  after  it  had  done  excellent  service  for  many  years 
in  the  old  Cathedral.  With  electrical  appliances  for  keyboard 
and  bellows,  and  the  addition  of  new  pipes  to  increase  its  har- 
monies,  the   renovated   organ   gave   the   greatest   satisfaction. 

Several  numbers  on  the  instrument  by  Dr.  Maurice  O'Connell, 
appropriate  words  by  Rev.  Father  Frieden,  music  and  poems 
by  the  members  of  the  Sodality,  pleasantly  and  edifyingly  filled 
up  an  hour  in  the  afternoon. 

Circumstances  this  year  having  prevented  the  elocution 
classes  from  giving  a  drama,  as  they  had  done  yearly  for  the 
past  few  years,  the  members  of  the  Junior  Philhistorian  Debat- 
ing Society  requested  that  permission  be  given  them  to  present 
one.  They  selected  the  sacred  drama  "Sedecias,  the  Last  King 
of  Judah,"  and  on  Wednesday  evening,  February  10th,  gave 
it  to  their  own  satisfaction,  as  was  somewhat  to  be  expected, 
but  we  are  happy  to  say,  to  the  equal  satisfaction  of  a  large 
audience. 

The  society  had  been  out  of  existence  for  same  years  when 
in  1 90 1  it  was  once  more  called  into  being.  Little  by  little  its 
members  had  increased,  and  with  numbers  came  confidence, 
with  the  result  that  it  accomplished  the  no  easy  task  of  render- 
ing a  five-act  tragedy  successfully,  all  the  chief  parts  of  which 
were  sustained  by  its  own  members. 

"An  attractive  and  enthusiastic  audience,"  we  are  told, 
"greeted  the  members  of  the  Junior  Philhistorian  Debating 
Society  of  St.  Ignatius  College  last  evening.  Their  attempt 
was  ambitious,  for  the  presentation  of  a  five-act  drama — a 
drama,   too,   which  must   rely  upon   correct   interpretation  of 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         353 

extremely  difficult  lines — is  a  matter  which  might  cause  even 
old-time  theatrical  men  to  hesitate.  It  must  be  more  than 
satisfactory  to  the  priests  and  scholars  of  St.  Ignatius  to  have 
seen  that,  even  in  the  face  of  particularly  difficult  circumstances, 
the  drama,  'Sedecias,'  was  produced  with  the  greatest  success, 
and  the  large  crowd  which  filled  the  hall  of  St.  Ignatius  College 
went  away  thoroughly  impressed  with  the  dramatic  ability  of 
the  young  men  who  took  part.  The  whole  story  of  the  drama 
was  founded  on  the  history  of  Nabuchodonosor  as  it  appears 
in  the  light  of  recent  investigation." 

When  we  say  that  the  Junior  Philhistorian  Society  was  once 
more  called  into  being,  we  are  aware  that  our  assertion  is  not 
altogether  exact.  A  few  words  will  make  our  meaning  clear. 
The  original  Philhistorian  Society  was,  as  we  have  seen,  estab- 
lished by  students  of  the  grammar  classes  on  October  8th,  1863, 
for  the  "junior  students  of  St.  Ignatius  College."  This  an- 
nouncement continues  in  the  college  catalogues  until  1867 
when  the  limitation  "junior  students"  is  dropped,  for  the 
obvious  reason  that  some  of  its  members,  for  instance  its  vice- 
President,  George  F.  Harrison,  were  in  Rhetoric.  The  Society 
was,  at  that  time,  for  all  the  students  of  the  college  without 
discrimination.  But  the  lapse  of  time  brought  changes.  As 
the  higher  classes  of  the  college  began  to  be  better  attended 
and  the  Society  could  easily  recruit  its  members  from  these, 
it  no  longer  cared  to  receive  younger  members,  who,  naturally, 
were  unable  to  discuss  questions  that  were  of  interest  to  pupils 
older  and  more  advanced.  In  1877,  therefore,  the  Philhistorian 
Debating  Society  was  restricted  to  senior  students;  and  the 
junior  Philhistorian  was  instituted  for  the  junior.  Mr.  Michael 
Shallo,  S.  J.,  was  the  founder.  So  matters  continued  until 
August,  1892,  when  the  junior  was  again  merged  into  the 
senior  and  there  was  but  one  Philhistorian  Debating  Society. 
In  1896,  it  was  judged  well  to  extend  the  scope  of  the  Society 
whose  "object"  was  declared  to  be  "to  foster  a  taste  for 
eloquence  and  literature  among  its  members,  and  to  afford 
them  an  opportunity  for  the  application  of  sound  principles  to 
social  and  historical  questions.  Not  only  actual  students,  but 
graduates  and  former  students  of  the  higher  classes  of  this  and 


354  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

similar  colleges,  as  well  as  other  young  men  of  good  character 
whose  attainments  are  such  as  will  make  them  useful  to  the 
Society;  are  eligible  to  membership."  This  was  virtually  the 
death  blow  to  junior  students,  and  even  to  seniors,  except  in 
the  very  highest  classes,  for  it  would  be  absurd  to  expect  old 
graduates  and  graduates  of  other  institutions  to  join,  in  applying 
sound  principles  to  social  and  historical  questions,  those  who 
had  never  studied  such  principles. 

The  natural  result,  therefore,  was  that  the  number  of  actual 
college  students  dwindled  away  until,  as  is  at  present  the  case, 
there  are  no  actual  students  in  the  organization,  though  there 
are  many  of  the  former  graduates. 

The  real  Philhistorian  Debating  Society  which  was  estab- 
lished in  1863,  and  which  was  intended  for  the  actual  pupils 
of  the  college  had,  therefore,  in  reality  ceased  to  exist,  and  the 
Ignatian  Literary  Society  had  practically  been  resuscitated 
under  its  name.  The  Society,  consequently,  re-established  in 
1901,  though  called  junior  to  distinguish  it  from  the  other 
which  was  called  senior,  is  the  real  successor  to  the  Philhistorian 
Society  of  1863.  It  includes  among  its  members,  students  from 
the  class  of  logic  downwards  to  humanities;  the  junior  Phil- 
historians  of  1877  and  succeeding  years,  did  not  receive  mem- 
bers except  from  poetry  and  under.  The  name  is  consequently 
misleading;  and  hence  when  we  speak  of  the  re-established 
Junior  Philhistorian  Debating  Society,  we  must  be  understood 
as  speaking  of  the  name  rather  than  of  the  thing. 

On  May  22nd,  sixty  of  the  students  helped  to  swell  the 
numbers  confirmed  at  the  Cathedral. 

In  the  beginning  of  June,  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  entered 
upon  a  new  departure,  or  rather  succeeded  in  reaching  a  point 
long  aimed  at,  when  it  gave  its  first  banquet  at  the  Occidental 
Hotel.  Far  back  in  the  Sixties,  as  we  have  more  than  once 
remarked,  we  find  the  Sodality  yearning  after  greater  social 
intercourse  among  its  members.  The  meeting  for  mass  and 
office  is  excellent,  and  piety  is  the  essential  of  the  organization. 
Still  the  thoroughly  successful  Sodality  can,  not  only  without 
detriment  to  itself  but  with  immense  profit,  afford  its  members 
the  innocent  enjoyments  of  social  intercourse. 


MOST  REV.  GEORGE  MONTGOMERY,   D.   D. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        355 

On  July  1  st,  the  Fathers  withdrew  from  regular  attendance 
at  the  City  and  County  Hospital.  From  the  earliest  days  of 
St.  Ignatius,  attendance  on  the  city's  sick  had  occupied  a  great 
part  of  the  time  of  one  and  sometimes  of  several  Fathers.  But 
there  was  good  work  to  be  done  which  could  not  well  be 
attended  to  by  others,  and  the  burden  was  gladly  shouldered, 
for  the  spiritual  fruit  was  abundant.  When,  however,  an  appro- 
priation was  made  by  the  city,  supplying  support  for  a  Catholic 
and  a  Protestant  chaplain,  the  church  of  the  parish  was  enabled 
to  keep  a  curate  specially  destined  for  this  work,  and  the  Fathers, 
certain  that  without  detriment  to  religion's  cause  they  could 
withdraw,  immediately  did  so. 

The  faculty  this  year  lost  Father  Joseph  Hickey,  whose 
excellent  work  in  behalf  of  the  Gentlemen's  Sodality  was 
crowned  with  most  consoling  success,  It  was  also  deprived 
of  Father  John  Ford  and  Messrs.  James  Hayes,  Anthony  Drath- 
man  and  Charles  Carroll.  It  was  increased,  however,  by  the 
gai  1  of  Fathers  Joseph  Saria,  Joseph  Mulligan  and  Maurice 
Joy,  as  also  of  Messrs.  Hubert  Flynn,  Patrick  Deignan,  James 
C    don,  Nicholas  Bell  and  Timothy  Murphy,  S.  J. 

Preparations  for  the  celebration  of  the  Golden  Jubilee  of 
the  proclamation  of  the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Conception 
had  already  for  some  time  been  under  way.  As  early  as 
February  nth,  a  committee  had  been  organized  to  consider 
what  means  should  be  taken  looking  to  the  celebration,  and 
on  April  10th,  Father  Dionysius  Mahony  had  commenced  a 
series  of  preparatory  sermons  to  be  given  on  the  second  Sunday 
of  every  month,  followed  by  the  recitation  of  the  jubilee  prayer 
composed  by  our  Holy  Father,  and  by  Solemn  Benediction. 
To  allow  the  congregation  to  listen  to  a  preacher  to  whom 
they  were  not  accustomed,  Rev.  Father  Frieden  requested 
Rev.  Father  Power,  Superior  of  the  New  Orleans  Mission, 
to  favor  him  with  one.  In  answer  to  the  request  Father  Albert 
Biever  was  kindly  lent  for  the  occasion.  On  November  24th, 
Father  Biever  left  New  Orleans,  where  he  is  President  of  the 
rising  College  of  Loyola,  and  reached  San  Francisco  four  days 
later.  On  the  30th,  he  began  a  retreat  which  was  well  attended 
at  all  the   exercises.     The   number  of  confessions   and   com- 


356  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

munions  was  large.  The  Feast  of  our  Blessed  Mother,  the 
Jubilee,  the  long  months  of  preparation,  the  filial  interest  and 
love  of  the  Sodalists,  the  earnestness  of  the  preacher,  concurrent 
missions  in  other  churches,  all  tended  to  a  success  appreciated 
by  everybody.  To  the  Sodalists  and  their  directors  too  much 
praise  cannot  be  given,  for  not  only  did  these  bodies  supply 
a  good  part  of  the  audience,  but  they  generously  defrayed  all 
the  expenses  of  the  celebration.  An  entertainment  in  the 
college  hall,  on  December  nth,  by  the  Sodalities,  fittingly  con- 
cluded the  festivities  of  the  occasion.  In  a  few  words  that 
evidently  came  from  his  heart,  Father  Biever  wished  the 
Sodalists  farewell,  and  on  the  14th  started  on  his  journey 
homeward,  as  much  pleased  with  his  visit,  as  he  left  those  who 
had  profited  by  his  zeal. 

"At  St.  Ignatius  Church,  the  decorations  for  the  Jubilee 
feast,"  remarks  the  Chronicle  of  December  9th,  "were  artistic 
and  beautiful,  centering  in  a  devotional  picture,  a  copy  in  oil 
of  Karl  Muller's  'Immaculate  Conception.'  Viewed  through  a 
vista  of  pine  boughs  and  fern  fronds  set  against  a  background 
of  blue  and  white  veiling,  which  was  looped  in  cloud  effect  just 
above  the  columns  supporting  the  clerestory  of  the  sacred  edi- 
fice, the  effect  was  excellent.  The  altar  was  ablaze  with  burn- 
ing wax  tapers,  and  beautiful  with  white  blossoms.  The  shrines 
throughout  the  church  were  adorned  with  fresh-cut  flowers. 
The  Celebrant  at  the  mass  was  Very  Rev.  J.  P.  Frieden,  with 
Father  Francis  assisting  as  deacon,  and  Messrs.  Frederick  Rup- 
pert  and  J.  J.  Laherty,  S.  J.,  officiating  respectively  as  subdeacon 
and  master  of  ceremonies.  In  the  choir,  the  regular  male  quar- 
tette gave  an  excellent  rendering  of  Alary's  Mass,  the  'Gloria' 
being  especially  devotional.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev. 
D.  Mahony.  Gilt  torches,  a  gift  of  a  friend  of  St.  Ignatius 
Church,  were  used  for  the  first  time  during  the  elevation  of  the 
mass.  The  effective  decorations  throughout  the  church  were  a 
votive  offering  from  the  two  large  Sodalities  connected  with  St. 
Ignatius.  In  the  evening  the  brilliant  illumination  of  the  entire 
church  emphasized  the  Jubilee  decorations.  Solemn  services 
were  held,  and  the  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Father  Biever, 
S.  J.,  of  New  Orleans,  who  has  been  conducting  the  Jubilee  mis- 


JUBILEE  OF  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         357 

sion  in  St.  Ignatius.  Those  who  viewed  the  decorations  were 
loud  in  commending  the  taste  displayed  by  the  Sodalities,  as 
well  as  by  the  ladies  who  have  charge  of  the  different  shrines." 

On  December  27th,  a  visit  to  the  college  from  Most  Reverend 
Ambrose  Agius,  O.  S.  B.,  the  Apostolic  Delegate  to  the  Philip- 
pines, fitly  concluded  the  year :  Bishop  Scannell  of  Omaha  and 
Bishop  Costamagna  of  Equador  having  already  paid  their 
respects  in  March  and  June,  respectively. 

1905. 
Although  1905  is  the  crowning  year  of  our  narrative,  its  his- 
tory must  be  rather  a  brief  record  of  events  than  an  extended 
commentary  upon  them;  for,  to  judge  rightly  of  the  present,  we 
need  the  calm,  clear  light  of  the  future,  which,  freed  from  the 
tinge  of  bias,  will  present  events  in  their  proper  hue  and  pro- 
portion. Moreover,  the  happenings  of  the  present  are  a  matter 
of  common  knowledge,  and  hence  can  borrow  no  interest  from 
the  attractions  of  novelty ;  they  are  offered,  therefore,  simply  as 
giving  completeness  to  the  past,  that  the  pen  to  whose  lot  it  shall 
fall,  in  the  distant  days  to  come,  to  record  the  second  half  cen- 
tury of  the  trials  and  triumphs  of  St.  Ignatius,  may  begin  its 
story  at  the  half  century's  inception. 

In  the  middle  of  January,  then,  of  the  present  year,  a  new 
society  met  for  the  first  time  in  the  sacristy  of  the  church.  It 
was  called  the  "Tabernacle  Society,"  and  had  for  its  object,  as 
similar  societies  have,  the  repairing  of  vestments  and  other  arti- 
cles used  in  the  service  of  the  altar.  In  its  scope,  consequently, 
it  is  more  limited  than  the  Altar  Society,  of  which  it  may  be 
justly  considered  the  fitting  complement.  Its  associates,  owing 
to  the  nature  of  the  work,  are  the  ladies  of  the  congregation, 
who  thus,  with  their  own  hands,  contribute  to  the  decorum  of 
divine  worship. 

March  opened  with  an  operetta  by  the  junior  students.  It 
was  called  the  "Bell  of  Blenheim,"  and,  while  differing  in  plot 
and  dialogue,  was  based  upon  the  "Bell  of  the  Forest."  Its  suc- 
cess reflected  great  credit  on  the  abilities  of  the  young  actors, 
several  of  whom  sustained  difficult  parts  in  a  manner  which  pro- 
voked flattering  comment.     It  was  the  second  operetta  that  had 


358  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

appeared  on  the  stage  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Felix  Rossetti, 
S.  J.,  the  preceding  year  having  witnessed  "The  Boys  of  '76." 

"The  students  of  the  High  School  Department,  assisted  by 
some  of  the  lads  from  the  Preparatory  School,"  says  an  observer, 
"presented  the  operetta,  'The  Bell  of  Blenheim,'  on  Wednesday 
evening,  March  1st.  The  hall  was  taxed  to  its  utmost  capacity, 
and  many  were  obliged  to  stand  during  the  performance." 

Ever  since  the  city  had  voted  bonds  for  the  purchase  of  a 
site  for  the  new  Public  Library,  the  choice  of  location  had 
become  an  important  question.  A  committee  had  been  appointed 
to  report  to  the  Board  of  Supervisors  on  the  matter,  and,  in  the 
beginning,  appearances  pointed  to  the  block  bounded  by  Larkin, 
Grove,  Van  Ness  and  Fulton  Streets  as  the  choice.  It  was  a 
site  sufficiently  central,  and  harmonized  with  the  idea  of  a  Civic 
Center,  an  idea  popular  with  many.  The  Fathers,  however,  were 
soon  informed  that  there  was  no  unanimity  in  the  matter,  and 
that  many  thought  that  the  block  immediately  in  front  of  our 
church  and  residence  would  be  preferable  for  library  purposes. 
They  were  informed  also,  at  the  same  time,  that  it  was  reported 
that  they  would  oppose  any  such  selection.  To  dissipate  this 
error,  and  show  that  they  would  not  stand  in  the  way  of  any 
project  which  would  tend  to  the  real  beautifying  of  the  city, 
Father  Edward  Allen  was  deputed  to  appear  before  the  Board 
of  Supervisors  on  March  3rd,  the  day  appointed  for  the  hearing  of 
parties  directly  interested  in  the  question,  and  he  clearly  exposed 
the  real  sentiments  of  the  college  authorities.  Supporting,  as  he 
did,  the  opinions  of  prominent  men  that  the  site  fronting  the 
college  would  better  serve  the  interests  of  the  public,  his  remarks 
made  a  favorable  impression,  and  doubtless  contributed  some- 
what to  the  decision  arrived  at  later,  by  which  the  block  bounded 
by  Van  Ness,  Hayes.  Franklin  and  Fell  Streets,  received  the 
preference. 

On  the  7th  of  the  month,  Father  William  O'Brien  Pardow, 
of  the  Maryland-New  York  Province  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
arrived  late  in  the  evening.  He  had  been  invited  to  give  a  series 
of  Sunday  evening  lectures  during  Lent,  interspersing  them  with 
triduums,  talks  to  various  religious  bodies,  and  a  public  lecture. 


STATUE  OF  ST.  ANN 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        359 

Only  excellent  health,  a  spirit  of  indefatigable  labor  and 
careful  antecedent  preparation  could  have  brought  to  an  emi- 
nently successful  termination  so  many  and  varied  labors.  May 
he  long  be  spared  to  repeat  in  San  Francisco,  and  elsewhere,  the 
success  achieved !  Having  vindicated  before  large  audiences,  the 
Church  arraigned  before  the  tribunal  of  reason  and  modern 
thought,  he  gave  a  short  address  to  the  Ladies'  Sodality  on  the 
afternoon  of  Easter  Sunday,  April  23rd,  and  a  few  hours  later 
took  train  homeward.  His  last  sermon  had  been  during  mass 
in  the  morning,  and  all  present  had  pronounced  it  a  masterly 
effort. 

The  subject  of  this  year's  scientific  lecture,  delivered  in  the 
college  hall  by  Mr.  Frederick  A.  Ruppert,  S.  J.,  was  "Discharges 
in  Partial  Vacua,  Radiant  Matter  and  Radium."  The  audience 
was  large,  and  much  appreciation  was  shown  at  the  success  of 
delicate  experiments.  In  several  of  the  preceding  years,  Mr. 
Ruppert  had  lectured  on  interesting  scientific  subjects,  as  had 
Father  Bell  on  "Wireless  Telegraphy,"  and  Father  Henry  Woods 
on  "Explosives."  Father  Dionysius  Mahony  and  others  had 
dealt  entertainingly  with  philosophic  questions,  thus  affording 
the  public  useful  information  on  the  interesting  topics  of  the  day. 

On  May  1st,  to  the  accompaniment  of  a  heavy  downpour, 
the  Philhistorian  Debating  Society  gave  a  smoker.  All  things 
considered,  the  attendance  was  large,  and  many  were  the  stories 
told  of  the  doings  of  its  members  and  its  presidents  in  the  days 
long  since  dead.  Among  those  present  were  Mr.  Robert  McGill, 
who  belonged  to  the  Society  in  the  late  Sixties  and  the  early 
Seventies,  and  Mr.  Albert  Le  Breton,  the  first  vice-president  of 
the  Philhistorians.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  various  calls  of  duty 
prevent  frequent  social  meetings  of  a  similar  nature,  by  which 
the  sincere  affection  which  old  students  bear  Alma  Mater  may 
be  fostered  and  find  expression. 

Two  days  later,  the  training-school  formally  opened  its 
Settlement  House  on  Ninth  Street.  This  extension  of  charity, 
under  the  patronage  of  several  prominent  Catholic  ladies  of  our 
city,  is  an  eloquent  witness  to  their  sincere  love  for  the  lowly, 
and  is  destined  to  bear  proportionate  fruits  in  spiritual  benedic- 
tions for  themselves  and  their  families.     In  June,  the  Knights 


36o  THE    FIRST   HALF    CENTURY 

of  Columbus  held  their  conclave  in  Los  Angeles.  In  passing 
through  San  Francisco  the  Knights  of  Buffalo  expressed  a 
desire  to  meet  the  Fathers  and  visit  church  and  college.  The 
request  was  readily  granted,  and,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  2nd, 
about  5  o'clock,  a  large  party,  accompanied  by  families  and 
friends,  made  a  tour  of  the  buildings.  So  pleased  were  they 
with  their  cordial  reception,  that  they  asked  whether  the  Knights 
returning  from  Los  Angeles  might  not  be  allowed  the  same  privi- 
lege. The  question  admitted  of  but  one  answer,  and  that  affirma- 
tive. On  the  13th,  accordingly,  some  twelve  hundred  people 
gathered  in  our  church,  about  five  hundred  being  Knights,  and, 
after  appropriate  hymns  and  prayers  and  a  brief  welcome  by 
Rev.  Father  Frieden,  the  college  doors  were  thrown  open,  and 
generous  hospitality  accorded  to  all.  An  hour  or  two  were  spent 
by  the  visitors  in  the  inspection  of  Museum,  and  Cabinet,  and 
Gymnasium,  and,  profuse  in  their  thanks  for  the  courtesy  shown 
them,  they  departed.  At  the  commencement  exercises  this  year, 
no  degrees  were  given,  as  it  was  considered  more  appropriate 
to  defer  their  granting  until  the  Jubilee  exercises  in  October. 
The  announcement,  moreover,  was  made  that  classes  would  in 
future  open  in  September  and  close  with  the  end  of  June,  thus 
returning  to  the  custom  that  obtained  in  the  earliest  days  of 
the  college.  The  change  was  brought  about  by  the  desire  of 
His  Grace,  the  most  Reverend  Archbishop,  who  wished,  as  much 
as  possible,  uniformity  in  this  matter  in  the  schools  and  colleges 
of  the  Archdiocese, 

We  have  seen  how  in  the  dark  days  of  the  trials  and  mis- 
fortunes of  Pope  Pius  IX,  the  various  Sodalities  and  the  pupils 
of  the  college  contributed,  according  to  their  means,  to  the  neces- 
sities of  the  Holy  Father.  Devotion  to  the  Holy  See  has  ever 
been,  and  will  ever  be  the  characteristic  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 
Hence,  it  is  no  subject  of  wonder  that  in  every  appeal  made  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  throne  of  Peter,  church  and  college  should 
be  found  in  the  forefront  of  those  who  answer  it.  In  response, 
therefore,  to  the  request  lately  made  by  His  Excellency,  the 
Apostolic  Delegate,  that  societies  for  the  collection  of  Peter's 
Pence  be  established  throughout  the  country,  the  Fathers,  on 
the  1 6th  of  July,  made  announcement  at  all  the  masses,  that  a 


BROTHER  JOSEPH  PIRISI,   S.   J. 


BROTHER    PATRICK    HARRICK,    S.    J. 
BROTHER   EDWARD   O'CONNOR,    S.   J. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         361 

society  of  the  kind  had  been  established  in  our  church,  and  that 
collectors  would  be  chosen  to  solicit  subscriptions.  The  good 
work  was  confided  to  Father  Joseph  Sasia. 

The  letter  of  His  Excellency  was  in  part  as  follows : 

"I  regret  to  state  that,  notwithstanding  the  generous  response 
of  the  American  people,  the  financial  condition  of  the  Holy  See 
is  far  from  being  prosperous  or  satisfactory.  The  present  sad 
state  of  some  of  the  most  prosperous  nations  of  Europe  and  the 
increased  demands  on  the  funds  of  the  Church  are  the  principal 
causes  of  the  actual  situation  of  the  Holy  See — a  situation  upon 
which  our  Holy  Father  looks  with  alarm,  because,  unless  his 
children  come  forward  more  liberally  to  his  assistance,  notwith- 
standing the  utmost  economy  practiced  in  every  department,  he 
can  hardly  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  vast  administration  of  the 
Church,   which   extends  throughout  the  whole  world.     .     .     . 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  confidence  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
in  the  generosity  of  the  American  Catholics  is  well  grounded.  A 
nation  which,  in  preference  to  others,  God  is  blessing  with  wealth 
and  prosperity,  and  in  which,  owing  to  the  established  principle 
of  religious  liberty,  the  Catholic  Church  is  pursuing  her  glorious 
course  free  and  untrammeled,  can  well  afford  to  supply  the 
deficiency  caused  by  the  present  abnormal  state  of  the  once 
generous  and  prosperous  nations  of  the  old  world." 

That  the  idea  of  His  Excellency,  the  Apostolic  Delegate, 
might  be  more  widely  diffused,  Father  Sasia's  leaflet  containing 
the  certificate  of  membership  in  the  Peter's  Pence  Society,  touches 
upon  the  duties  of  Catholics  in  the  matter. 

"It  is  clearly  the  duty  of  Catholics  to  contribute  to  the  support 
of  their  pastors,"  it  says,  "therefore  it  is  obligatory  upon  them 
to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  Supreme  Pastor. 

This  obligation  does  not  cease  when  means  have  been  provided 
sufficient  for  the  bare  carrying  on  of  that  which  is  essential  in 
the  government  of  the  Church.  It  is  the  right  of  the  Vicar  of 
Christ  that  he  and  his  representatives  should  be  maintained 
honorably  according  to  their  exalted  office. 

Few  realize  how  much  is  required  every  year  to  carry  on  the 
government  of  the  Church  with  only  that  modest  dignity  which 


362  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

characterizes  it,  and  which  God's  honor  cannot  allow  to  be  laid 
aside.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  there  is  question  of  providing  in 
a  suitable  way  for  the  supreme  administration  of  a  complete 
society  numbering  two  hundred  and  fifty  million  people. 

Hitherto  American  Catholics  have  hardly  done  their  share 
in  this  work.  On  the  one  hand,  the  organizing  and  building 
up  of  the  Church  in  this  country  called  for  a  very  large  expend- 
iture that  had  no  place  amongst  older  nations;  on  the  other, 
the  Catholics  of  Europe,  especially  the  French,  provided  gener- 
ously for  the  wants  of  the  Holy  See.  Under  such  circumstances 
we  could  be  easily  excused.  But  now  the  religious  persecution 
that  has  grown  steadily  during  the  past  few  years,  is  cutting 
off  the  Church  from  these  sources  of  supply ;  and  we  must  take 
upon  ourselves  to  give  cheerfully  what  the  Holy  Father  has  a 
right  to  expect  from  us."  The  response  of  the  congregation  has 
up  to  the  present  been  most  gratifying,  and  will,  we  doubt  not, 
furnish  ample  matter  of  praise  for  the  future  annalist. 

The  faculty  changes  this  year  consist  in  the  departure  of 
Father  Anthony  Tardella,  Messrs.  Patrick  Deignan,  Cornelius 
Buckley  and  James  Conlon.  The  new  members  of  the  college 
are  Messrs.  William  Keany,  Eugene  Bacigalupi,  Eugene  Oliver, 
George  Gilbert,  S.  J.,  and  Rev.  Robert  E.  Kenna,  the  retiring 
president  of  Santa  Clara  College. 

On  the  9th  of  September,  the  following  affectionate  letter 
of  congratulation  was  sent  by  the  Very  Rev.  Ludovico  Martin, 
General  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  to  the  Fathers  and  Brothers  of 
the  college: 

**  "Tusculi  die  9  Septembris,  1905. 

Reverende  in  Xto  Pater, 
P.  X. 

Gratissimum,  quam  quod  maxime,  advenit  nuncium  quinqua- 
gesimi  adventantis  anni,  ex  quo  conditum  est  istud  S.  Ignatii 
Collegium  mihi  carissimum,  templumque  nostrum  a  nobilissimis 
istis  civibus  felici  omine  auspicatum.  Si  enim  recolo  mente 
uberrimos  laetosque  fructus,  quos,  Deo  bene  juvante,  turn  in 
Collegio  turn  in  templo  retulistis,  et  quibus  spectata  alumnorum 
civiumque  pietas  et  gratia  labores  vestros  hactenus  rependit; 
facere  non  possum  quin  et  de  praeteritis  summas  Deo  Optimo 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         363 

Maximo  gratias  habeam,  certamque  spem  excipiam  fore,  ut  et 
in  posterum  pares,  immo  etiam  laetiores  fructus  colligamus. 
Omnibus  igitur  maxime  gratulor,  pro  sua  cuique  parte  tarn 
liberaliter  strenueque  gesta.  Deum  antem  preccr  ex  animo,  ut 
Collegium  et  templum  diu  feliciterque  servet;  vosque  obsecro  et 
obtestor  in  Domino,  ut  quam  de  vobis  expectationem  fecistis, 
non  modo  aequetis  sed  etiam  vincatis. 

Vobis  omnibus  peramanter  benedico,  vestrisque  sacris  et  pre- 
cibus  me  commendo.  p^  y^ 

Servus  in  Xto, 

Rev.  P.  Joan.  P.  Frieden,  S.  J.,  L'  Mar™>  S-  J- 

Sup.  Miss.  (Ad  S.  Francisci  in  Calif orn.) 

Tusculum,  September  9th,  1905. 
Reverend  Father  in  Christ, 
P.  X. 

Happy  to  me  beyond  measure  have  been  the  tidings  of  the 
coming  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  St.  Ignatius 
College,  so  dear  to  me,  and  of  our  church,  begun  under  happy 
auspices  by  your  worthy  fellow  citizens.  For  if,  in  thought,  I 
dwell  on  the  very  abundant  and  happy  fruit  which,  with  God's 
help,  you  have  reaped  in  Church  and  College,  and  with  which 
the  well-known  piety  and  favor  of  your  pupils  and  fellow  citizens 
have  hitherto  requited  your  labors,  I  cannot  but  give  thanks  to 
Almighty  God  for  the  past,  and  harbor  the  assured  hope  that, 
for  the  future  also,  we  shall  reap  equal,  yea  even  more  abundant 
fruit. 

To  all,  therefore,  I  send  my  congratulations ;  to  each,  for  the 
part  so  generously  and  strenuously  played.  For,  from  my  heart 
I  pray  God,  that  long  and  dearly  he  may  cherish  Church  and 
College ;  and  I  beg  and  beseech  you  in  the  Lord,  that  you  will 
not  only  live  up  to  but  surpass  the  hopes  to  which  you  have 
given  birth. 

To  all,  with  tenderest  love,  I  give  my  blessing,  and  commend 
myself  to  your  Holy  Sacrifices  and  prayers. 

Your  Reverence's 

Servant  in  Christ, 

Rev.  John  P.  Frieden.  S.  J.,  L-  Martin,  S-  J- 

Super,  of  California." 


364  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

But  beautiful  and  consoling  as  this  message  is,  so  expressive 
of  deep  affection  and  fartherly  encouragement,  the  joy  of  our 
Jubilee  is  still  further  enhanced  by  the  kindness  of  Our  Holy 
Father,  Pope  Pius  X. 

Early  in  August,  Rev.  Father  Frieden  had  taken  steps  to 
obtain  the  blessing  of  His  Holiness  for  the  Jubilee.  It  would 
crown  all,  he  justly  thought,  if  the  Supreme  Head  of  the  Church 
would  send  a  blessing  to  his  far-off  children,  in  order  that  the 
trials  and  successes  of  the  first  half  century  might  end  in  bene- 
diction, and  those  of  the  second  half  open  with  it. 

The  presenting  of  the  petition  was  confided  to  Father  S.  M. 
Brandi,  S.  J.,  of  Rome,  whose  generous  assistance  afforded  on 
more  than  one  occasion,  we  cannot  too  warmly  thank.  The 
petition  was  as  follows  : 

**     "Most  Holy  Father: 

Father  John  P.  Frieden,  S.  J.,  Superior  of  the  Mission  of 
California,  postrate  at  Your  Holiness'  feet,  on  the  happy  occasion 
of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  the  church  and 
college  of  St.  Ignatius  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  humbly 
begs  for  himself,  for  the  Religious  of  the  Mission,  and  for  all 
the  students,  friends  and  benefactors  of  church  and  college,  the 
Apostolic  Benediction." 

To  have  merely  assented,  would  have  been  to  grant  fully  all 
that  had  been  asked ;  but  the  kindly  heart  of  Pope  Pius  was  not 
content  with  this.  Taking  the  petition  in  his  hand,  he  wrote  the 
gracious  reply : 

"In  accordance  with  the  request  made  us  and  begging  of 
the  Lord  all  that  is  prosperous  and  salutary,  we  to  our  beloved 
sons  and  their  works,  even  in  the  long  line  of  the  coining  years, 
impart  our  Apostolic  Benediction. 

Given  at  the  Vatican,  August  28th,  1905. 

Pius  X." 

In  this  blessing,  therefore,  we  shall  rest,  here  in  the  dawn  of 
the  coming  Jubilee,  hoping,  as  we  well  may,  that  its  brightness 
will  not  be  ephemeral ;  and,  that  the  seeds  of  sacrifice  planted 
in  the  last  half  century  of  effort  will  take  root  and  prosper  unto 
the  ripened  ear  of  success,  for  the  welfare  of  Catholicity  in  San 
Francisco. 


**tie    btt  »*cto  fieSt^eM*  jfivu^fc.  ecca%xt,*x*.    Set- 

fain*    Si    b.  *$yp«rMc  v,4ff*.  c'tta    i;   X  &*»*'«»,  "nit 
nttrtft    Iwfffo**.  j?«  it,  fix  I    t&aieel  Stff*  >^<x.fyli„ 

C\m    yc-c     I A    M*a.zicL,  . 


CONCLUSION. 


As  stated  in  our  introduction,  the  present  volume  has  been 
written  for  its  friends — a  family  history,  the  warp  and  woof 
of  which  are  the  common  events  of  daily  life,  of  little  or  no 
interest  except  to  those  who  have,  at  some  time  or  other,  been 
connected  with  the  household.  To  these  a  name,  a  scene,  a 
passing  mention  will  call  back  the  tenderer  associations  of  early 
years,  often  perhaps  forgotten  in  the  bustle  of  the  present,  but 
never  totally  obliterated  from  the  loyal  heart.  Should  our 
volume  contribute  to  the  awakening  of  old  memories  in  the 
friends  of  St.  Ignatius,  we  shall  consider  that  our  labor  has  not 
been  in  vain. 

But  perhaps  our  very  friends  will  turn  our  pages  and  look 
in  vain  for  a  name  that  should  be  there ;  will  seek  some  incident 
that  they  know  so  well,  and  find  it  missing.  Perhaps  what  was 
of  great  importance  at  the  time  will  be  passed  over  with  a  word ; 
and  what  was  of  little  moment  will  be  found  in  all  the  minute- 
ness of  detail.  Perhaps  even  errors  will  have  crept  in;  for  in 
dealing  with  such  a  multiplicity  of  matters,  we  dare  not  promise 
ourselves  exemption  from  the  common  lot  of  man. 

In  extenuation  of  all  our  shortcomings,  we  can  only  say 
that  we  did  our  best  with  the  materials  at  our  disposal.  Many 
things  we  have  heard,  which,  upon  examination,  we  could  not 
trace  to  any  authentic  source;  and  which,  hence,  much  to  our 
regret,  we  were  forced  to  pass  over  in  silence.  Other  things 
there  were,  repeated  from  mouth  to  mouth  and  even  at  times 
put  into  print,  which  were  evidently  inexact  or  incorrect,  and 
hence  had  to  be  rejected.  Sometimes  what  seemed  authentic 
and  reliable  was  found  to  be  quite  the  contrary,  so  that  more 
than  once,  as  new  documents  came  to  light,  we  were  obliged  to 
change  what  we  had  written. 

Sometimes  when  we  had  finished  our  pages  a  new  benefac- 
tion came  to  weave  itself  into  our  story,  as  that  of  Mrs.  Eleanor 
Martin,  on  August  23rd  of  the  present  year.  As  a  memorial 
of  our  Jubilee  she  has  promised  a  companion  piece  to  the  statue 

365 


366  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

of  St.  Ann.  It  is  to  be  an  angel  holding  a  shell  for  the  recep- 
tion of  holy  water.  The  main  figure  is  to  be  of  purest  Carrara 
marble;  the  shell  is  to  be  of  marble  even  more  precious.  In 
artistic  merit  each  statue  is  to  vie  with  the  other,  for  the  same 
artistic  brain  will  have  conceived  and  the  same  artistic  hand  will 
have  chiseled  both. 

It  will  be  regretted  by  many,  that  little  has  been  said  about 
the  success  of  the  graduates  and  old  students  of  St.  Ignatius, 
in  the  various  walks  of  life.  But  to  this  we  answer,  that  to  have 
dealt  with  all,  would  have  been  to  swell  our  volume  beyond  due 
proportions,  and  to  have  selected  a  few,  would  have  been  to 
introduce  invidious  distinctions  where  all  are  equally  dear  to 
Alma  Mater. 

In  mutual  affection,  therefore,  let  the  scroll  of  the  departed 
years  be  rolled  up,  bright  as  it  is  with  many  a  deed  of  self- 
sacrifice  and  devotion;  and  as  time  unrolls  the  second  half 
century  of  church  and  college's  existence,  let  history's  pen  find 
nothing  to  record  save  the  actions  of  those  whose  lives  are  the 
reflex  of  what  their  motto  should  be:     "Noblesse  oblige." 


Appendices. 


PULPIT  AND   TRIBUNE 


APPENDIX    A. 

INTRODUCTION  TO  FATHER  LANGLOIS'  JOURNAL. 

"Journal  Ecclesiastique  et  Religieus, 

Pour  San  Francisco  Xaverio. 
La  premiere  messe  dite  a  la  Mission  etablie  en  la  ville  de 
San  Francisco  Xaverio  fut  le  17  Juin  et  3e  Dimanche  a  Pente- 
cote,  1849.  Mr.  Brouillet  Pretre  V.  G.  de  l'ev.  de  Walla  Walla, 
en  Oregon,  venu  en  Calif ornie  l'automne  precedent,  dans 
l'interet  des  Missions  d'Oregon  et  occupe  depuis  a  temps  comme 
le  seul  Pretre  qui  put  parler  la  langue  de  tant  d'etrangers  venant 
des  Etats  Unis,  de  lTrlande,  etc.,  etc.,  fut  specialement  charge 
d'acquiescer  au  desir  des  citoyens  et  de  travailler  a  1'edification 
d'une  eglise  et  d'y  faire  le  Service  divin.  On  commence  par 
l'achat  d'un  terrain  de  25  barras  sur  50  — ,  apres  avoir  assemble 
les  Catholiques  les  plus  zeles  et  avoir  ouvert  une  souscription  de 
cinq  mille  piastres  pour  payer  le  lot  avec  la  maison  batie  dessus. 
On  disposa  cette  maison  de  maniere  a  contenir  le  plus  de  monde 
possible,  en  otant  tout  ce  qui  pouvoit  la  restreindre  et  la  diviser. 
On  la  tapissa  avec  du  coton  blanc  tout  au  tour  et  au  haut.  Les 
Dames  ornerent  le  petit  autel  qu'on  y  plaga;  puis  nous  primes 
logement  au  haut :  Mr.  Brouillet,  Mr.  Langlois  venu  de  l'Oregon 
depuis  quelques  mois  et  le  Capitaine  A.  Raballon,  ami  des  Pretres 
et  debarque  d'un  navir  dont  il  etoit  fatigue.  II  se  reposait  au 
sein  de  la  Religion,  qu'il  avoit  propagee  dans  les  iles  en  protegeant, 
conduisant  et  aidant  les  missionnairs ;  et  il  travaillait  encore  ici 
a  disposer  la  maison,  etc.  Dans  la  semaine  Mr.  Brouillet  partit 
pour  Santa  Barbara,  pour  aller  voir  le  Rd.  P.  Gonzalez,  Superieur 
et  Gouverneur  de  la  Mitra  en  Californie,  sede  Episc.  vacante,  afin 
de  traiter  des  interets  moraux  et  temporels  des  missions  de  tout 
le  pays.  II  fut  deux  mois  et  quelques  jours  absent.  Pendant  ce 
temps  la  le  brave  Capitaine  frangais  mourut,  en  leguant  une 
moyenne  somme  a  l'hote  Ecclesiastique  qui  le  soignoit  et  devoit 
arranger  toutes  ses  affaires.  La  Religion  se  commenca  un  peu  a 
pratiquer,  malgre  les  obstacles  naturels,  cle  la  soif  de  Tor  que 
tous  etoient  venus  chercher,  arrivant  de  tous  les  cotes;  les 
inconvenients,  des  situations  precaires,  incommodes,  melangees 

369 


370  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

entre  inconnus  et  sous  des  tentes,  pour  un  grand  nombre,  les 
occasions  de  cantines  et  auberges  multipliees  ou  taut  de  personnes 
se  trouvaient  pour  s'amuser,  boire  et  se  divertir,  la  petitesse  de 
l'appartement  et  le  peu  d'apparence  exterieure  de  cette  maison — 
Eglise,  joints  a  l'insuffisance  du  Pretre  desservant  qui  devoit 
parler  1' Anglais,  l'Espagnol  et  le  Franc,ais,  dans  un  meme  prone, 
pour  etre  entendu  de  tous  et  le  manque  de  temps  pour  aller 
inviter  et  faire  savoir  aux  maisons  Catholiques,  qtj'on  pouvoit 

FAIRE  SON   SALUT  A   SAN   FRANCISCO." 


APPENDIX    B. 

CIRCULAR   LETTER   OF   FATHER   GONZALEZ,    1848. 

"Nos  Fr.  Jose  Maria  de  Jesus  Gonzalez  Rubio,  Predicador, 
Misionero  Apostolico  de  la  Regular  Observancia  de  Ntro.  S.  P. 
Sri  Franco  y  Vicario  Capitular  Gobernador  de  esta  Diocesi  por 
la    Sta.    Yglesia   Metropolitana. 

A  todos  nuestros  muy  amodos  diocesanos  salud  y  paz  en 
Ntro.  S.  J.  C. 

Desde  el  dia  en  que  a  pesar  de  nuestra  insuficiencia  nos  vimos 
obligados  a  llebar  sobre  nuestros  debiles  hombros  la  pesada  carga 
del  gobierno  de  esta  sagrada  Mitra,  no  hemos  cesado  de  derramar 
en  la  presencia  de  Dios  las  mas  humildes  suplicas  por  el  bien  y 
prosperidad  de  esta  amable  grey  puesta  a  nuestro  cuidado;  pero 
sin  duda  el  peso  de  nuestras  culpas  ha  hecho  que  el  Sefior  no  nos 
oiga,  ni  cese  en  sus  justos  enojos.  Cada  dia  vemos  que  las 
circumstancias  son  mas  dificiles;  que  los  auxilios  y  recursos  son 
casi  ningunos;  que  la  esperanza  de  reponer  el  suficiente  clero 
ya  casi  se  extingue ;  y  sobre  todo  que  el  culto  divino  por  f alta  de 
arbitrios  y  sacerdotes  amenaza  en  toda  la  Diocesi  una  completa 
ruina.  Que!  las  divinas  alabanzas,  los  ejercicios  de  piedad,  de 
santificacion  y  religion;  los  homenages  que  a  la  Divinidad  deben 
tributarsele  en  sus  Templos?  Acaso  seran  por  parte  de  este 
Pueblo  tan  descuidados,  6  tan  tivios  e  imperfectos  que  al  Sefior 
ya  no  le  sean  agradables  ?  Que !  la  malicia,  la  corrupcion  y 
pecados  de  este  Pueblo;  habran  llenado  ya  su  medida  y  irritada 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        371 

la  Divina  Justicia?  querra  que  el  arbol  de  la  Religion  plantado 
aqui  con  el  sudor  y  fatigas  de  tantos  zelosos  misioneros,  sea 
trasladado  a  otras  partes  en  donde  de  mejores  frutos?  Oh! 
cuanto  debemos  temer,  mis  queridos  diocesanos,  este  formidable 
castigo!  castigo  ciertamente  el  mayor  que  puede  venirnos  de  la 
ira  del  cielo  y  que  parece  comensamos  a  esperimentar  ya;  pues 
Dios,  por  sus  impenetrables  juicios  de  pocos  anos  a  esta  parte 
ha  permitido  que  en  este  pais  todo  se  trastorne,  que  la  mayor 
parte  de  los  misioneros  se  hay  an  muerto,  6  ausentadose  sin 
esperanza  de  relevo;  que  la  educacion  religiosa  sea  menos  cada 
dia ;  que  los  pueblos,  unos  esten  destruidos,  otros  en  total  abandono 
sin  administracion  de  Sacramentos,  sin  Sacerdotes,  sin  culto 
publico,  y  todos  ellos  sin  buenas  costumbres,  y  rodeados  de  la 
mas  peligrosa  seduction.  1  dial  sera  su  suerte  ?  Yo  no  lo  se ;  pero 
si,  debemos  temer  que  si  en  los  habitantes  de  este  pais  la  ignor- 
ancia  religosa  aumenta,  la  caridad  se  resfria  y  la  fe  se  debilita 
un  poco  mas,  luego  al  primer  impulso  se  lanzaran  ciegos,  6  a 
la  impiedad,  6  al  protestantismo,  6  a  la  indiferencia  en  punto  de 
Religion,  y  entero  olvido  de  Dios.     .     .     ." 


appendix  c. 
CIRCULAR   LETTER   OF   FATHER   GONZALEZ,    1849- 

"Nos  Fr.  Jose  de  Jesus  Gonzales. 

A  todos  nuestros  muy  amados  fides  actualmente  residentes 
en  esta  Diocesi  salud  y  paz  en  Ntro.  Senor,  J.  C. 

Desde  que  la  divina  Providencia,  por  sus  inescrutables 
decretos,  dispuso  que  reportaremos  el  grave  y  delicado  cargo  del 
gobierno  de  esta  sagrada  Mitra,  tubimos  muy  presente  el  principal 
e  importantisimo  deber  de  poneros  Obreros  Evangelicos  que  con 
su  sana  doctrina,  edificante  conducta  y  apostolico  espiritu 
sostubisen  vigorosamente,  en  esta  diocesi  Californiense,  el 
compacto  edificio  de  la  Religion  santa  de  J.  C. ;  pero  las  diversas 
ocurrencias,  la  inmensa  distancia  a  las  fuentes,  y  la  lamentable 
indigencia  en  que  nos  hallamos,  han  sido  otros  tantos  obstaculos 
para  que  Nos  pudiesemos  dar  su  debido  lleno  a  este  tan  sagrado 


372 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


objeto.  Posteriormente  hemos  visto  con  dolor  el  regravarse  esas 
mismas  causas,  y  aun  revestirse  de  circunstancias  muy  dificiles. 
Podriamos  permanecer  unos  frios  expectadores  de  los  males 
que  amenazen  a  nuestra  tan  amada  grey?  Podriamos  cumplir 
nuestros  grandes  empenos  para  con  esta  Sta.  Yglesia  de  Cali- 
fornias,  abandonando  nuestra  solicitud  al  eventual  curso  de  los 
tiempos,  hasta  que  presentara  una  facil  y  comoda  oportunidad 
de  ordenar  nuestras  operaciones  relativas  al  cuidado  pastoral  que 
gravita  sobre  nuestros  hombros?  No,  queridos  hijos  nuestros, 
vuestra  salud  y  felicidad  espiritual  imperiosamente  demandan 
que  a  proporcion  que  vuestros  males  se  multiplican,  tambien  Nos 
redoblemos  nuestros  debiles  esfuerzos  para  remediarlos.  Preciso 
es  pues  arbitrar  todos  los  medios  posibles  para  proveer  a  esta 
Diocesi  del  mucho  clero  que  necesita;  para  que  el  culto  divino 
no  se  disminuya,  y  vuestras  necesidades  espirituales  sean 
atendidas.  Mas,  y  como  resolver  un  problema  tan  dificil  ?  Como 
allanar  las  gravisimas  dificultades  que  nos  embarazan  un  bien 
tan  deseado?  He  aqui,  hijos  mios,  nuestra  mas  dificil  posicion 
en  estos  tan  desgraciados  tiempos.  Sabeis  bien,  y  por  tan 
maninesto  no  podeis  ignorarlo,  que  en  esta  Diocesi  de  California, 
el  clero  ha  sido  compuesto  de  los  Rev.  Padres  Misioneros  del 
Sagrado  Orden  de  Predicadores,  y  de  los  Colegios  Apostolicos 
de  San  Fernando  y  de  Zacatecas;  pero  estos  han  minorado  tan 
notablemente  que  apenas  hoy  se  encuentra  un  pequeno  numero 
de  ellos  agravado  de  los  afios,  del  trabajo,  de  enfermedades,  y 
principalmente  del  desconsuelo  de  no  tener  esperanza  alguna  de 
relevo.  Ahora  poco  hemos  sido,  es  verdad,  auxiliado  con  algunos 
pocos  Sacerdotes  seculares;  mas  en  tan  corto  numero,  que  no 
bastan  a  cubrir  una  octava  parte  de  los  lugares  urgentemente 
necesitados  del  ejercicio  de  su  sagrado  ministerio.  De  donde 
pues,  nos  proveeremos  del  Clero  necesario  ?  Sera  de  los  Colegios 
Apostolicos  que  han  f undado  y  sostenido  la  Religion  en  este  pais  ? 
No;  porque  las  circunstancias  de  los  tiempos  han  disminuido 
tanto  su  numero,  que  apenas  pueden  atender  a  sus  proprios  Sem- 
inarios.  Sera  del  Clero  secular  de  las  otras  Diocesis  de  esta 
Metropoli?  Entiendo  que  no;  porque  no  hay  aqui  ni  un  solo 
beneficio  ecclesiastico  con  que  proporcionarles  su  subsistencia ; 
pero  aunque  los  hubiese  y  pingiies,  los  Sefiores  Obispos  apenas 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         373 

pueden  atender  a  las  necesidades  de  su  propria  grey,  y  aunque 
sin  duda  abundan  en  los  mayores  deseos,  no  podran  auxiliarnos. 
Podra  crearse  aqui  mismo  el  clero  necesario?  Es  evidente  que 
no ;  pues  un  pais  naciente  como  el  nuestro,  que  carece  de  Colegios, 
y  aun  de  escuelas  de  primeras  letras  no  puede  todavia  producir 
jovenes,  ni  personas  instruidas,  que  aspiren  al  estado  ecclesiastico; 
pero  aun  cuando  abundasen  dichos  establecimientos  literarios, 
no  podria  actualmente  improvisarse  de  ellos  el  Clero  suficiente 
con  la  urgencia  que  la  necesidad  de  estos  pueblos  demanda. 
De  donde,  pues,  nos  proveeremos  de  Sacerdotes  instruidos, 
zelosos  y  proporcionados  a  las  actuales  circunstancias  del  pais? 
Solo  de  la  Europa.  Alii  si  abundan  y  estan  prontos  a  venir.  Mas, 
y  con  que  fondos,  con  que  rentas  podremos  conducirlos?  Esta 
Yglesia  de  California  no  cuenta  con  ningunas  y  aun  los  recursos 
que  antes  tenia  en  el  sistema  de  Misiones  aqui  establecido,  y  los 
auxilios  del  Fondo  Piadoso  y  todo  este  ha  desaparecido.  Que 
nos  queda  despues  de  Dios?  Solo  el  recurrir  a  vuestra  piedad. 
O  muy  amados  hijos  mios :  solo  este  recurso  humano  nos  queda, 
y  si  en  el  no  encontramos  el  debido  apoyo,  creedme,  lo  decimos 
con  dolor,  vuestras  espirituales  necesidades  quedaran  sin  remedio, 
el  culto  divino  sera  destruido,  y  la  Religion  misma  desaparecera, 
y  con  ella  todo  el  consuelo  de  la  presente  vida  y  la  felicidad  de 
la  eterna.  Mas  no,  no  sera  asi;  porque  esperamos  en  el  Sefior 
ha  de  vernos  con  misericordia :  confiamos  tambien  en  vuestra 
piadosa  generosidad,  y  tanto,  que  en  ella  creemos  tener  un  seguro 
recurso  para  realizar  la  noble  e  importante  mira  que  tanto  tiempo 
ha,  ocupa  nuestros  deseos  de  conducir  aqui  el  competente  numero 
de  Sacerdotes  los  mas  aproposito,  que  os  edifiquen  con  su  conducta, 
os  instruyan  con  su  doctrina,  y  fervorosos  cumplidamente  os 
auxilien  con  su  sagrado  ministerio.  A  este  importante  fin,  O 
amados  hijos,  y  confiados  en  vuestra  noble  generosidad,  tan  luego 
como  tomamos  las  riendas  de  este  gobierno  ecclesiastico,  nuestro 
primer  cuidado  fue  llamar  en  nuestro  auxilio  a  los  distinguidos 
Sacerdotes  de  la  Congregacion  de  los  Sagrados  Corazones  de 
Jesus  y  Maria.  En  efecto  el  Illmo.  Sor.  Maigret  nos  remitio  a 
los  Rs.  Ps.  Lebret  y  Holbein,  quienes  actualmente  sirven  en  esta 
Diocesi,  y  por  conducto  de  ellos  mismos  hemos  pedido  al  Rmo. 
e  Illmo.     Sefior  Bonamie  algunos  otros  Misioneros  que  espero 


374  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

llegaran  pronto;  pero  que  son  estos  tan  pocos  Obreros  Evan- 
gelicos,  para  sostener  el  culto  divino  en  tantos  Templos; 
administrar  los  Santos  Sacramentos  en  pueblos  tan  numerosos; 
dirigir  la  cristiana  y  esmerada  educacion  de  tantos  niiios,  y 
atraher  al  seno  de  la  Religion  tantas  tribus  de  gentiles?  Necesario 
son  pues,  en  tan  dilatada  Diocesi,  al  menos  unos  cuarenta  zelosos 
Misioneros ;  pero  para  que  vengan,  es  indispensable  antes  crear 
un  fondo  suficiente  para  los  precisos  gastos  de  pasaje,  subsistencia, 
etc.  Que  hara  esta  sagrada  Mitra  vacia  de  todos  recursos?  Ya 
lo  he  dicho,  hijos  mios,  no  nos  queda  otro  recurso  sino  implorar 
vuestra  piedad.  Por  tanto,  O  Christianos,  todos  los  que  estais 
en  esta  Diocesi,  si  amais  verdaderamente  a  Jesu  Christo  y  su 
Religion  Santa,  si  quereis  que  ella  arraigue  y  floresca  en  medio 
de  nosotros,  y  que  santifique  vuestras  almas  y  las  conduzca  al 
cielo,  preciso  es  que,  con  una  mano  liberal,  proporcioneis  los 
recursos  temporales  necesarios.  Cada  uno  segun  su  piedad  y 
generosidad,  de  lo  que  espontaneamente  guste:  quiza  la  divina 
Providencia  solo  aguarda  probar  vuestra  mas  o  menos  liberalidad, 
para  otorgarnos  el  completo  remedio  a  nuestras  espirituales 
necesidades.  No  dudamos  un  momento,  queridos  hijos  y  muy 
amados  diocesanos  nuestros,  el  que  aceptareis  gustosos  esta 
sencilla  manifestacion  que  os  hacemos  de  nuestros  sentimientos 
y  mas  vivos  deseos,  para  que  luego  al  punto  veais  con  el  mayor 
emperio  la  grande  obra  que  os  proponemos.  Conocemos  bien 
vuestra  piedad  y  nobles  sentimientos,  y  por  lo  mismo  nos 
abstenemos  de  aquellos  discursos  y  exhortaciones  pateticas  que 
suelen  usarse  al  implorar  la  pieddad  publica.  Que  es  lo  que 
podriamos  deciros?  Acaso  que  se  trata  de  vuestro  bien,  del 
honor  y  culto  de  Dios,  y  del  lustre  y  engrandecimiento  de  vuestro 
pais?  Esto  ya  lo  sabeis  y  vivimos  seguros  de  vuestra  emulacion 
por  conseguirlo.  En  verdad  os  hariamos  un  manifiesto  agravio 
si  trataremos  ahora  de  persuadiros  que  la  actual  empresa  es  la 
mas  util,  la  mas  urgente,  la  mas  necesaria,  la  mas  conforme 
a  vuestros  sentimientos,  a  vuestra  profesion  cristiana,  y  a 
vuestra  felicidad  verdadera,  tanto  eterna  como  temporal.  Baste 
pues  indicaros,  que  la  Religion  Sta.  de  J.  C.  sin  vuestra 
cooperacion  y  sacrificios,  no  puede  permanecer  mas  en  este  pais; 
que  el  culto  divino  sin  Sacerdotes  y  rentas  suficientes  no  puede 
subsistir  por  mas  tiempo;  que  la  administracion  de  los  Sacra- 


VESTIBULE 
FORMER   GALLERY 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         375 

mentos  e  instruction  de  la  juventud,  y  por  ultimo  la  conversion 
de  los  Gentiles,  no  pueden  hacerse  sin  Operarios  evangelicos 
que  consagren  sus  talentos,  su  trabajo,  y  aun  la  misma  vida  por 
tan  grandes  objetos.  Considerad,  hijos  mios,  todo  esto :  y  obrad 
segun  vuestra  tan  conocida  piedad  y  generosidad.  Como  para 
subvenir  a  las  espirituales  necesidades  de  los  muchos  fieles  que 
actualmente  ocurren  al  Placer,  hemos  destinado  a  los  Rs.  Ps. 
Ramirez  y  Holbein;  a  estos  mismos  les  hemos  hecho  tambien  el 
encargo  de  que  a  su  transito  por  los  principales  lugares,  y  el 
tiempo  que  permanescan  en  el  Placer,  abran  suscripciones,  colecten 
y  reciban  las  donaciones,  limosnas  y  oblaciones  voluntarias,  que 
les  sean  ofrecidas  para  el  referido  objeto  de  conducir  aqui  los 
sacerdotes  necesarios.  Por  tanto,  mis  queridos  hijos,  podeis 
entregar  a  los  dichos  Rs.  Ps.,  6  a  la  persona  que  ellos  senalen, 
cuanto  vuestra  piedad  y  liberalidad  os  inspirare,  confiados  en 
me  todo  redondara  en  vuestro  provecho,  ademas  de  las  celes- 
tiales  bendiciones  con  que  el  Sefior  os  premiara  la  parte  que 
tomareis  con  vuestras  donaciones  y  limosnas  en  una  obra  tan 
interesante,  tan  piadosa,  y  tan  del  agrado  de  Dios  Nuestro  Sefior ; 
quien  os  conserve,  O  mis  queridos  hijos,  y  os  llene  de  su  santa 
gracia  y  amor.     Amen. 

Dada  en  Santa  Barbara,  firmada  y  refrendada  segun  estilo, 
a  trece  dias  del  Mes  de  Junio  de  1849.  Fr.  Je.  Ma.  de  Jesus 
Gonzalez. 


APPENDIX    D. 


DEED  OF  FATHER  SANTILLAN  TO 
JAMES  R.  BOLTON. 

Jose    Prudencio   Santillan   and 
M.  A.  R.  de  Poli,  Agent, 

to 
Santiago  R.  Bolton. 
Deed. 
En  la  ciudad  de  San  Francisco,  territorio  de  la  Alta  Cali- 
fornia, a  los  once  dias  del  mes  de  Abril  del  ano  de  N.  S.  de  mil 
ochocientos  cincuenta,  por  ante  mi  el  infrascrito  Notario  Publico 
de  la  referida  ciudad,  se  presentaron  el  Sr.  D.  Jose  Prudencio 


376  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

Santillan  cura  parroco  y  ministro  de  la  misma  y  de  la  Mision  de 
Dolores  y  el  Dr.  Don  Manuel  Antonio  Rodriguez  de  Poli  como 
un  apoderado  general  y  dijeron  que  venden  y  dan  en  venta 
real  y  perpetua  desde  ahora  para  siempre  al  Sr.  D.  Santiago  R. 
Bolton  de  dicha  ciudad  de  San  Francisco  todas  las  fincas  y 
demas  bienes  que  tienen  en  el  distrito  de  la  referida  Mision 
compuestos  de  todas  las  casas  y  las  rancherias  de  la  Mision  que 
se  hallaban  incultas  en  el  mismo  dia  en  el  ya  citado  distrito  que 
seran  tres  sitios  de  ganado  mayor,  poco  mas  6  menos,  y  que 
lindan  por  el  norte  con  Yerba  Buena,  por  el  noroeste  con  el 
presidio  de  San  Francisco,  por  el  oeste  con  tierras  de  los  herederos 
de  Don  Francisco  Haro,  por  el  sud  con  parte  del  rancho  de  los 
Sanchez  y  por  el  este  con  la  bahia,  cuyas  fincas  y  terrenos  han 
sido  concedidos  al  citado  Dn.  Jose  Prudencio  Santillan  por  el 
gobierno  de  las  Californias  en  el  referido  dia  diez  de  Febrero 
del  afio  mil  ochocientos  cuarenta  y  seis  segun  mas  terminante- 
mente  consta  del  documento  original  de  que  hacen  entrega. 

Asi  mismo  venden  al  nombrado  D.  Santiago  R.  Bolton  la 
casa  y  tierras  adquiridas  del  Sr.  R.  Ridley  que  se  hallan  en  el 
centro  de  la  referida  Mision  detalladas  en  el  documento  original 
de  adquisicion  que  igualmente  entregan  al  comprador  al  cual 
ceden  todas  las  regalias  de  derecho  y  accion  que  tenian  por  el 
precio  y  cantidad  de  doscientos  mil  pesos  fuertes  de  plata  acufiada 
que  el  citado  D.  Jose  Prudencio  Santillan  y  su  apoderado  general 
confiesan  haber  recibido  y  que  aunque  no  parece  de  presente 
renuncian  a  las  leyes  del  caso  y  de  ello  le  dan  recibos  y  finiquito 
en  forma,  declarando  ser  el  justo  precio  y  que  si  mas  fuese,  le 
hacen  la  gracia  y  donacion  que  el  derecho  llama  inter  vivos  y 
renuncian  tambien  a  las  leyes  que  tratan  de  la  lesion  enorme 
enormisima  queriendo  que  todo  lo  que  le  venden  sea  para  el, 
sus  herederos  y  sucesores,  disfrutandolo  libre  y  pacificamente  y 
tomando  la  posesion  judicial  cuando  bien  creyere  conveniente, 
para  lo  cual  se  dan  por  citados  y  emplazados  en  debida  forma. 

Le  esceptuan  de  esta  venta  el  cuadro  entero  de  casas  de 
Galeria  y  el  terreno  que  sea  necesario  para  formar  un  cuadro 
completo  empezando  por  el  norte  con  el  terreno  de  Francisco 
Rufino,  siguiendo  hasta  la  esquina  del  cementerio  y  de  este  igual 
estension  al  oeste,  lo  que  desde  hoy  para  siempre  servira  para 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE        $77 

subsistencia  del  culto,  parroco  y  ministros  de  la  Sta.  Yglesia 
Catolica  Apostolica  Romana.  Igualmente  se  esceptuan  de  la 
venta  dos  lotes  de  cien  varas  de  cuadro  cada  uno  lindando  por 
el  oeste  con  el  cuadro  de  la  Yglesia  y  casa  de  la  Mision,  otro 
lote  de  cuatrocientas  varas  sitas  al  sud  del  arroyo  del  sud  de 
la  Mision  donde  concluye  el  estero,  otro  lote  de  quince  mil 
cuatrocientas  doce  varas  cuadradas  sitas  en  el  camino  de  la 
Mision  al  presidio  de  Sn.  Franco,  donde  se  halla  establecido 
Sr.  Goux  y  sus  compafieros  y  otro  lote  de  cuatrocientas  varas 
en  cuadro  sitas  en  el  valle  de  Canutal  lindando  por  el  este  con  el 
camino  real,  y  para  que  conste  asi  otorgan  siendo  testigos  Dn. 
Juan  Gutierrez  y  D.  Mariano  Rodriguez  Palmer  de  todo  lo  cual 
doy  fe,  fecha  ut  retro. 

Jose  Prudencio  Santillan.     (No  seal) 

Dn.  Manuel  A.  Rodriguez  de  Poll     (No  seal) 

Mariano  R.  Palmer. 


378  THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 

APPENDIX    E. 


LIST  OF  PUPILS   FROM    1855   TO    1861. 


The  following  lists  have 

books  of  Father  Maraschi,  and 

of  interest : 

List  of  Students 

Bowie,  Harry 
Brophey,  Edwin 
Brophey,  John 
Carson,  James 
Conway,  James 
Conway,  John 
Crittenden,  Howard 
Crittenden,  James 
Crittenden,  Parker 
Da  vies,  John 
Davies,  Thomas 
Davies,  

List  of  Students 

Anion,  William 
Bowie,  Augustus 
Bowie,  Harry 
Brannan,  John 
Bryant,  John 
Burke,  Thomas 
Campion,  Eugene 
Carew,  John 
Carew,  Thomas 
Carew,  William 
Carson,  James 
Carton,  James 

Caulfield,  

Cavanagh,  Edward 
Cochran,  Richard 
Coffey,  Edward 
Connolly,  Nicholas 

Crawley, 

Crittenden,  Howard 
Crittenden,  James 
Crittenden,  Parker 
Davies,  John 
Davies,  Thomas 

Davies,  

Duff,  Harry 
Duff,  William 


been  compiled   from  the  account 
,  though  incomplete,  will  be  found 

during  '55  and  '$6. 
Egan,  Edward 
Guerin,  James 
Hickey,  John 
McCabe,  John 
McCabe,  Richard 
O'Neil,  Alexander 
O'Neil,  Jeremiah  Thos. 
Palliesse,  Alexander 
Sheppard,  William 
Sullivan,  Frank 
Sullivan,  Robert 


during  '56  and  '57. 

Egan,  Edward 
Farrell,  Andrew 

Farrell,  

Finnerty,  William  H. 
Fuller,  Joseph 
Gallagher,  Edward 
Gallagher,  John 
Gerke,  Lewis  G. 
Glynn,  Thomas 
Golden,  Thomas 
Harris,  David 
Harris,  John  W. 
Hayes,  William 
Hickey,  John 
Hogan,  Robert 
Huber,  Arnaud 
Huber,  Charles 
Huber,  William 
Humphrey,  Charles 
Hyland,  William 
Inge,  Richard 
Kelly,  Charles 
Kelly,  George 
Kelly,  John 
Kelly,  William 
Kenny,  James 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


379 


List  of  Students  during  '56  and  '57. — Continued. 


Kenny,  Joseph 
Kiernan,  Francis 
Marks,  Thomas  E. 

Marshall, 

Maume,  Matthew  J. 
McCabe,  John 
McCabe,  Richard 
McGowan,  Hugh 
McKnight,  Hugh 
McNamara,  John 
Mitchell,  Thomas 
Mogan,  Patrick 
O'Brien,  Charles  D. 
O'Connell,  John 
O'Farrell,  Thomas 
O'Neil,  Alexander 
Pardow,  George 

Pardow,  

Piper,  John 


Pollock,  W.  D. 
Reichert,  Lewis 
Ritchie,  Archibald 
Rogers,  Thomas 
Stone,  George 
Sullivan,  Frank 
Sullivan,  John 
Sullivan,  Robert 
Tignera,  Eugene 
Toote,  Richard 
Tucker,  John 
Verdenal,  Dominic 

Washburn,  

White,  Lewis 
Williams,  James 
Wingard,  James  Benton 
Wingard,  Thomas 
Zernan,  Emanuel 


List  of  Students  during  '57  and  '58. 


Anion,  William 

Baldwin, 

Barry,  James 
Blanchard,  Carlisle 
Blanchard,  Charles 
Blanchard,  Claude 
Blanchard,  Wenton 
Bowie,  Augustus 
Bowie,  Harry 
Brunn,  Jacob 
Cavanagh,  Edward 
Coffey,  Edward 
Coffey,  William 
Connell,  Matthew 
Crowley,  John 
Duff,  Harry 
Duff,  William 
Egan,  Edward 
Ellis,  Joseph 
Etheredge,  William  H. 
Garthorne,  Charles 
Garthorne,  Henry 
Gedge,  Frank 

Gedge, 

Gilhooly,  Thomas 
Glynn,  Thomas 


Green,  George 
Grosso,  Costantino 
Hart,  Hugh 
Hayes,  John 
Hayes,  William 
Heany,  Hiram 
Hill,  Joseph 
Hughes,  James 
Jennings,  Henry 
Kearney,  John 
Kelly,  William 
Kenny,  James 
Kenny,  Joseph 
Kiernan,  Francis 
King,  Richard 
Lawless,  Peter  R. 
Ludwig,  George  G. 
Maguire,  Guthrie 
Mahony,  John 
Martin,  William 
McCabe,  John 
McCabe,  Richard 
McCord,  Edward 
McGowan,  Hugh 
McGregor,  Joseph 
McManus,  James  B. 


38o 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


List  of  Students  during  '57  and  '58. — Continued. 


McMinn,  W.  H. 
McKnight,  Hugh 
McQuaide,  Joseph 
McSweeny,  Eugene 
Mogan,  Patrick 

Mogan, 

Noe,  Jesus 
Noe,  Vicente 
O'Connell,  John 

O'Hara, 

O'Hara,  

O'Hegan,  John 
Pardow,  George 

Pardow, 

Rogers,  Thomas 


S  kelly, 

Sleven,  Thomas  M. 
Splivalo,  Caesar 
Stoltz,  Geo.  Washington 
Sullivan,  Frank 
Sullivan,  Robert 
Sweeny,  Eugene 
Tignera,  Eugene 
Vaughn,  John 
Vizgard,  Joseph 
Washington,  Frank 
Washington,  John 
Welsh,  Michael 

Welsh, 

Wheaton,  Leonard 


List  of  Students  during  '58  and  '59. 


AmedeE,  Ferdinand 
Blanchard,  Carlisle 
Blanchard,  Charles 
Blanchard,  Claude 
Cavanagh,  Edward 
Egan,  Edward 
Faulkner,  William 
Glynn,  Thomas 
Grosso,  Costantino 
Hart,  Hugh 
Hayes,  John 
Hayes,  William 


Hill,  Joseph 
Kelly,  John 
Kelly,  William 
Mogan,  Patrick 
McCabe,  John 
McCabe,  Richard 
McGowan,  Hugh 
McManus,  James  B. 

McQuaide, 

O'Connell,  John 
Welsh,  Michael 
Welsh, 


List  of  Students  during  '59  and  '60. 


Cavanagh,  Edward 
Egan,  Edward 
Glynn,  Thomas 
Grosso,  Costantino 
Hart,  Hugh 
Hayes,  John 
Hayes,  William 
Kelly,  John 


Kelly,  William 
Mogan,  Patrick 
McCabe,  John 
McCabe,  Richard 
McGowan,  Hugh 
McManus,  James  B. 
McQuaide,  Joseph 
O'Connell,  John 


The  printed  catalogues  contain  the  names  of  pupils  in  suc- 
ceeding years. 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE 


38i 


APPENDIX    F. 


MEMBERS    OF    THE    CLERGY    WHO    HAVE    BEEN 
PUPILS    OF    ST.    IGNATIUS. 


Rt.    Rev.    Edward    Tohn    O'Dea. 

D.  D. 
Rev.  John  Cassin 
Rev.  John  Coyle 
Rev.  John  E.  Cottle 
Rev.  John  Sullivan 
Rev.  Robert  Sesnon 
Rev.  P.  J.  Collopy 
Rev.  Edward  P.  Dempsey 
Rev.  Joseph  Noonan 
Rev.  Thomas  CMalley 


Rev.  Joseph  Gleason 

Rev.  John  Harrington 

Rev.  Thomas  P.  Heverin 

Rev.  William  Galvin 

Rev.  John  W.  Brockhage 

Rev.  Joseph  O'Rourke,  O.  P. 

Rev.  Volney  J.  Hunt,  O.  P. 

George  Sturla,  O.  P. 

Rev.  Alexander  P.  Doyle,  C.  S.  P. 

Rev.  Henry  I.  Stark,  C.  S.  P. 


APPENDIX    G. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  SOCIETY  OF  JESUS  WHO  HAVE 
ENTERED  FROM  ST.  IGNATIUS  COLLEGE. 


Rev.  James  O'Sullivan 

•{•Daniel  Crowley 

+Francis  Leonard 
Rev.  Jeremiah  Collins 
Rev.  John  Cunningham 
Thomas  Landers 
Rev.  Dionysius  Mahony 
Rev.  Joseph  Riordan 
Rev.  Julius  Egloffstein 

•{•James  Cunningham 

+Richard  Redington 
Rev.  William  Culligan 

•{"Thomas  Boland 
Rev.  Joseph  Mulligan 
Rev.  George  Butler 
Rev.  Joseph  Landry 
Rev.  Patrick  Foote 
Rev.  Richard  Bell 
Rev.  Henry  Whittle 
Rev.  Joseph  Lydon 

+lawrence  casserly 
Rev.  James  Malone 

4"John  Malone 

+Joseph  O'Connor 


William  Boland 

John  Hayes 

Denis  Kavanagh 

John  Brazel 

Anthony  Drathman 

John  Grisez 

Cornelius  Buckley 

Charles  Carroll 

Frederick  Ruppert 

George  Meany 

Joseph  Morton 
■{•Frederick  Peterson 

Edward  McCarty 
+Andrew  Ransom 
+JOHN  Clynes 

John  Madden 

John  Laherty 

Robert  Burns 

Hubert  Flynn 

Henry  Brainard 

Felix  Rossetti 

Henry  Walsh 

Patrick  Deignan 

Nicholas  Bell 


382 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


Members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  who  have  entered  from  St.  Ignatius 
College. — Continued. 


Eugene  Oliver 
Timothy  Murphy 
Joseph  Sullivan 
Joseph  Stack 
John  Gearon 
Edmund  Wall 
Charles  Walsh 
James  Conlon 
William  Keany 
Cornelius  Deeney 
Leo  Simpson 
George  Fox 


Gregory  Kast 
Zacheus  Maher 
Martin  Maher 
Thomas  Flaherty 
Joseph  Crowley 
Adrian  McCormick 
William  Lonergan 
Victor  White 
Arthur  Coghlan 
Edward  Whelan 
Cornelius  McCoy 


APPENDIX    H. 


GRADUATES. 

Masters  of  Arts. 


Alexander  A.  O'Neill,  M.  D...1867 

Francis  J.  Leonard,  S.  J 1867 

Hon.  J.  F.  Sullivan,  LL.  B 1872 

Robert   P.   Tobin 1873 

Thomas  H.  Griffin 1874 

Thomas   D.   Riordan 1874 

James  I.  Boland,  LL.  B 1876 

John  T.  Fogarty 1876 

William  I.  Foley 1877 

Peter  F.  Dunne,  LL.  B 1878 

Gustave  MahE,  Jr.,  M.  D 1878 

Francis  C.  Cleary,  LL.  B 1880 

Rev.  Henry  D.  Whittle,  S.  J.  ..1880 
Joseph  J.  Dunne,  LL.  B 1880 


Henry  F.  Price 1881 

Joseph  F.  Bluxome,  LL.  B 1884 

Charles  B.  Lastreto 1886 

Rev.  Joseph  M.  Gleason 1888 

Thaddeus  E.  Pawlicki,  LL.  B.  .1892 

Richard  V.  Curtis,  LL.  B 1892 

George  A.  Connolly,  LL.  B 1902 

John  L.  Mulrenin 1903 

Francis  L.  Fenton 1903 

William  A.  Breen 1905 

Edward  A.   Foley 1905 

William  J.  Kieferdorf 1905 

Owen   E.   McCann 1905 

Stanislaus   A.   Riley 1905 


Bachelors  of  Arts. 


Augustus  J.  Bowie 1863 

Henry  P.  Bowie 1865 

Francis  J.  Leonard,  S.  J 1865 

Alexander  A.  O'Neill,  M.  D...1865 
Major    Geo.    E.    F.    Harrison, 

Artillery  Corps,  U.  S.  A 1869 

Hon.  J.  F.  Sullivan,  LL.  B 1870 

John  A.  Hicks 1871 

James  H.  Ryan 1871 


Robert   P.   Tobin 1872 

Thomas  H.  Griffin 1873 

Thomas  D.  Riordan 1873 

Rev.  J.  J.  Von  Egloffstein,  S.  J.  1874 

James  I.  Boland,  LL.  B 1875 

John  T.  Fogarty 1875 

Alfred  R.  Kelly 1875 

Florence  J.  McAuliffe 1875 

Michael  F.  O'Connor 1875 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         383 


Graduates — Bachelors 

Joseph  Pescia,  M.  D 1875 

Matthew  I.  Sullivan,  LL.  B...1876 

Alfred  R.  Tobin 1876 

Thomas  Boland,  S.  J 1876 

William  I.  Foley 1876 

Peter  F.  Dunne,  LL.  B 1877 

Gustave  Mahe,  Jr.,  M.  D 1877 

Henry  I.  Blaney 1878 

William  L.  Whelan 1878 

Albert  M.  Whittle 1878 

Rev.  Henry  D.  Whittle,  S.  J. .  .1879 

Francis  C.  Cleary,  LL.  B 1879 

Joseph  J.  Dunne,  LL.  B 1879 

Henry  F.  Price 1879 

William  T.  Kearns 1881 

Joseph    Hughes 1881 

George  J.  Duraind 1881 

Edmund  W.   Marks 1881 

Hon.  James  D.  Phelan,  LL.  B..1881 

Augustus   Casserly 1881 

John  J.  Dillon 1882 

James  I.  Egan 1882 

John  F.  Brooke 1882 

John  B.  Casserly,  LL.  B 1882 

William  J.  Sweigert,  LL.  B 1883 

Thomas  F.  Connolly 1884 

Charles    H.    McKinstry,    Capt. 

Engineer  Corps,  U.  S.  A 1884 

Charles  B.  Lastreto 1885 

Robert  J.  O'Connell,  M.  D 1885 

Andrew    Carrigan 1886 

Clarence  J.  McKinstry,  LL.  B.1886 

James  F.  Leddy 1887 

Michael   O'Dea 1887 

Joseph  S.  Tobin,  LL.  B 1887 

Rev.  Joseph  M.  Gleason 1887 

Henry  A.  Tobin 1888 

John  F.  Campbell 1888 

Louis  De  F.  Bartlett,  Ph.  B . . .  1888 

Francis  I.  Francoeur 1888 

John  S.  Drum,  LL.  B 1891 

Thaddeus  E.  Pawlicki,  LL.  B.  .1891 

Richard  V.  Curtis,  LL.  B 1892 

Robert  J.  Hicks 1893 

Benjamin  L.  McKinley,  LL.  B.1893 

Francis  J.  Burke,  LL.  B 1894 

Attilio  H.  Giannini,  M.  D 1894 

Bernard  F.  McElroy,  M.  D 1894 

Cyril  P.  Williams,  B.  Sc 1895 


of  Arts. — Continued. 

Luke  J.  Flynn 1895 

John  L.  Mulrenin 1896 

Francis  G.  Reichling 1896 

Robert  H.  Richards 1896 

Francis  A.  Morton 1896 

Joseph  M.  Kelly 1896 

Richard  C.  Tobin,  Jr 1896 

George  J.  Cleary 1897 

Francis  L.  Fenton 1897 

Joseph  Meagher,  M.  D 1897 

Milton  B.  Lennon,  A.M.,  M.D.1897 

William  A.  Breen,  LL.  B 1898 

Percy  R.  Hennessy 1898 

Henry  C.  Costa 1898 

Walter  J.  M.  Williams,  M.  D..1899 

Henry  D.  Fanning,  M.  D 1899 

George  Golden  Fox,  S.  J 1899 

John  N.  Carrigan 1899 

Clarence   Carrigan,  Lieut.   Ar- 
tillery Corps,  U.  S.  A 1899 

Joseph  G.  Freechtle 1899 

Leo.  C.  Lennon,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D., 

LL.  B 1899 

Wylie  J.  Dunn 1899 

Michael  F.  Buckley 1900 

Zacheus  J.  Maher,  S.  J 1900 

Edward  F.  O'Day 1900 

Stanislaus  A.  Riley,  LL.  B. ..  .1900 

Richard  L.  Williams 1900 

Constantine  R.  Bricca 1901 

William   P.  Golden 1901 

John  E.  Hughes 1901 

Hubert  M.  Hussey 1901 

Joseph  A.  Murphy 1001 

Louis  X.  Ryan 1901 

George  A.  Connolly,  LL.  B 1902 

Francis  I.  Barrett 1902 

Frederick  J.  Churchill 1902 

Alfred  J.  Cleary 1902 

Edward  A.  Foley 1902 

Owen  E.  McCann 1903 

Michael  I.  Coffey 1903 

Francis  X.  Williams 1903 

Charles  A.  Schott 1904 

Robert  X.  Ryan 1904 

William  A.  Breen 1904 

Joseph   R.    Crowley 1905 

Thomas  J.  Flaherty 1905 

Anthony   J.    Smith 1905 

John  L.  Whelan 1905 


3§4 


THE    FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


Masters  of  Science. 


John  J.  Montgomery,  Ph.  D — 1880 

James  F.  Tevlin,  LL.  B 1881 

John  E.  Fitzpatrick 1881 

Edward  P.  Luby 1884 

Eugene   McFadden 1886 


Frederick  H.  Jung,  LL.  B 1889 

James  J.  Conlon,  S.  J 1889 

Edward  J.  Banning,  LL.  B 1892 

James  F.  Smith,  M.  D 1892 


Bachelors  of  Science. 


Jerome  A.  Hughes,  M.  D 1875 

Thomas  Tully 1875 

John  W.  Stateler 1876 

John  J.  Montgomery,  Ph.  D...1879 

Edward   McGary 1879 

Richard  P.  Doolan 1879 

William  C.  Andrews 1879 

James  F.  Tevlin,  LL.  B 1880 

William  T.  Kearns 1880 

John  E.  Fitzpatrick 1880 

Joseph    Hughes 1880 

Francis  G.  Drum 1881 

James    Dunn 1881 

John  J.  Dillon 1881 

J.  Downey  Harvey 1881 

Rev.  Richard  H.  Bell,  S.  J 1881 

Eugene  A.  Beauce 1882 

Humphrey  B.  Moynihan 1882 

Frederick   Morrison 1882 

Louis    Koch 1882 

Joseph  F.  Bluxome,  LL.  B 1883 

Thomas  F.   Connolly 1883 

William  Gilbert,  LL.  B 1883 

Francis  P.  Hughes 1883 

Edward  P.  Luby 1884 

Quirino  R.  Corbala 1884 

Ambrose   O'Neill 1885 

Charles  W.  Callaghan 1885 


William  H.  Smith 

Joseph  W.   Stapleton 

Andrew  G.  Maguire,  LL.  B 

Eugene    McFadden 

Ernest    Hartman 

Daniel  V.   Egan 

John  D.  Costigan 

Dennis  F.  Ahern 

Thomas  J.  O'Brien 

William  B.  Ryder 

Frederick  H.  Jung,  LL.  B 

James  J.  Conlon,  S.  J 

Oscar  F.  Rouleau 

Edward   Donohue 

John  J.  Gallagher,  M.  D 

Guido  E.  Caglieri,  M.  D 

Thomas  P.  Conlon 

David  M.  Burnett,  LL.  B 

James  D.  Fairchild 

James  F.  Smith,  M.  D 

Maurice  W.  O'Connell,  M.  D. 
Edward  J.  Banning,  LL.  B.... 

Francis  P.  Haynes,  LL.  B 

John  A.  Lenahan,  LL.  B 

Casimir  F.  Pawlicki,  M.  D — 

Charles  W.  Sweigert 

Thomas  W.  Hickey,  LL.  B 

Saturnino    Gonzalez 


885 


886 
886 
887 
887 


887 


800 
890 
891 
891 
891 
891 
892 
892 
892 
892 
893 
893 
893 


Honorary  Degrees. 


Doctors  of  Laws. 


Charles   W.   Callaghan 1905 

Andrew    Carrigan 1905 

James  V.  Coffey 1905 

J.  Downey  Harvey 1905 

Eugene  P.  Murphy 1905 

Capt.  Albert  H.  Payson 1905 

Hon.  James  D.  Phelan 1905 


Richard  E.  Queen 1905 

Robert  X.  Ryan 1905 

Hon.  Frank  J.  Sullivan 1905 

Hon.  Jeremiah  F.  Sullivan 1905 

Matthew   I.    Sullivan 1905 

Hon.  Joseph  S.  Tobin 1905 


ST.   IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         385 


Doctors  of  Philosophy. 
Thomas  E.  Bailly,  M.  D 1905      John  Gallway,  M.  D. 

Master  of  Arts. 
Harry   F.   Sullivan 1905 


1905 


APPENDIX    I. 

SECULAR  PROFESSORS  IN  ST.  IGNATIUS,  1860-1905. 
Lists  compiled  from  catalogues : 

i860 

Mr.  F.  Seregni 
Mr.  John  Egan 
Mr.  W.  H.  Doyle 


Appointed 
Mr.  J.  P.  McCurrie 
Mr.  J.  O'Donoghue 

Mr.  W.  J.  G.  Williams 


Rev.  M.  O'Reilly 
Mr.  J.  P.  Grace 
Mr.  H.  Maginn 
Mr.  J.  D.  Boyle 


Mr.  John  P.  Campbell 


'6l 


'62 


'63 


'64 


'65 


'66 


Resigned 
Mr.  W.  H.  Doyle 


Mr.  T.  Seregni 


Mr.  J.  P.  Grace 
Mr.  J.  D.  Boyle 


Rev.  M.  O'Reilly 
Mr.  W.  J.  G.  Williams 
Mr.  John  Egan 
Mr.  Henry  Maginn 
Mr.  John  P.  McCurrie 


Mr.  Francis  Leonard 
Mr.  John  Egan 


386 


THE     FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


Secular  Professors  in  St.   Ignatius  College. — Continued. 

>67 


Appointed 
Mr.  J.  W.  Lannon 
Mr.  J.  O'Dwyer 


Mr.  J.  D.  Sullivan 
Mr.  J.  Gosgrove 
Mr.  D.  O'Connell 


Mr.  Chas.  B.  Mahon 
Mr.  J.  W.  Lannon 
Mr.  D.  J.  Delay 
Mr.  A.  R.  Reid 


Mr.  J.  O'Dwyer 


Mr.  J.  F.  Sullivan,  A.  M. 
Mr.  W.  C.  Crook 
Mr.  R.  M.  Clarken 
Mr.  D.  E.  Lordan 
Mr.  T.  A.  O'Sullivan 


Mr.  W.  B.  Cundall 
Mr.  P.  J.  Cunningham 


Mr.  J.  C.  Robinson 
Mr.  G.  W.  Rooney 

Mr.  L.  Von  der  Mehden 

Mr.  J.  G.  Maguire 
Mr.  M.  Hanrahan 
Mr.  D.  J.  Sullivan 


Mr.  P.  Chamberlaine 
Mr.  Jas.  O'Brien 
Mr.  T.  E.  Cahill 

Mr.  D.  J.  Sullivan 
Mr.  E.  Nichols 
Mr.  J.  I.  Boland,  A.  M. 
Mr.  F.  McAuliffe,  A.  B. 


'68 


'69 


> 


'7i 


'72 


73 


'74 


'75 


>76 


Resigned 
Mr.  Francis  Leonard 


Mr.  J.  P.  Campbell 
Mr.  J.  W.  Lannon 


Mr.  D.  O'Connell 
Mr.  J.  O'Dwyer 


Mr.  J.  P.  Cosgrove 
Mr.  J.  W.  Lannon 


Mr.  J.  P.  O'Donoghue 
Mr.  J.  D.  Sullivan 
Mr.  J.  O'Dwyer 


Mr.  Chas.  B.  Mahon 

Mr.  J.  Egan 

Mr.  T.  A.  O'Sullivan 


Mr.  R.  M.  Clarken 
Mr.  P.  J.  Cunningham 
Mr.  J.  C  Robinson 


Mr.  J.  F.  Sullivan,  A.  M. 
Mr.  G.  W.  Rooney 


Mr.  D.  J.  Sullivan 
Mr.  J.  G.  Maguire 


Mr.  W.  B.  Cundall 
Mr.  T.  E.  Cahill 
Mr.  P.  Chamberlaine 
Mr.  M.  Hanrahan 


ST.    IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         387 


Secular  Professors  in  St.   Ignatius  College. — Continued. 

'77 


Appointed 
Mr.  J.  Hughes,  S.  B. 


Mr.  G.  M.  Hubbard,  A.  B. 

Mr.  W.  L.  Whelan,  A.  B. 
Mr.  C.  Ryan  (Northrop) 


'78 


'79 


'80 


'81 


Mr.  J.  Manning 

Mr.  A.  Thornton 

Mr.  J.  E.  Fitzpatrick,  S.  M. 


Mr.  F.  Knell 

Mr.  E.  Beauce,  S.  B. 

Mr.  S.  Haskins,  A.  B. 


Mr.  Pedro  A.  Espina 
Mr.  T.  F.  Connolly,  A.  B. 


Mr.  F.  Lee  Chauvin 
Mr.  A.  R.  Reid 
Mr.  C.  Fay 


Mr.  W.  Sweigert,  A.  B. 
Mr.  E.  Beauce,  S.  B. 
Mr.  E.  J.  Ryan,  S.  B. 


Mr.  E.  Luby,  S.  M. 

Mr.  D.  J.  McCann,  S.  B. 

Mr.  S.  Haskins,  A.  M. 


'82 


'83 


'84 


'85 


'86 


Resigned 
Mr.  Jas.  O'Brien 


Mr.  E.  Nichols 

Mr.  J.  I.  Boland,  A.  M. 


Mr.  A.  R.  Reid 


Mr.  G.  M.  Hubbard,  A.  B. 
Mr.  W.  C.  Crook 
Mr.  J.  Hughes,  S.  B. 
Mr.  F.  McAuliffe,  A.  B. 
Mr.  L.  Von  der  Mehden 


Mr.  D.  E.  Lord  an 
Mr.  D.  J.  Sullivan 


Mr.  J.  Manning 
Mr.  D.  J.  Delay 


Mr.  C.  Ryan  (Northrop) 


Mr.  F.  Knell 
Mr.  Pedro  A.  Espina 
Mr.  E.  Beauce,  S.  B. 
Mr.  T.  F.  Connolly,  A.  B. 


Mr.  S.  Haskins,  A.  B. 


Mr.  E.  J.  Ryan,  S.  B. 

Mr.  J.  E.  Fitzpatrick,  S.  M. 


388 


THE     FIRST    HALF    CENTURY 


Secular  Professors  in  St.   Ignatius  College. — Continued. 

'87 


Appointed 
Mr.  C.  Lastreto,  A.  M. 
Mr.  T.  Killian 
Mr.  J.  Leddy,  A.  B. 
Mr.  J.  Gallagher 
Mr.  V.  Tobin 


Resigned 
Mr.  E.  Luby,  S.  M. 
Mr.  F.  Lee  Chauvin 
Mr.  W.  L.  Whelan,  A.  B. 
Mr.  E.  Beauce,  S.  B. 


Mr.  F.  Jung,  S.  B. 


Mr.  J.  Dwyer 
Mr.  G.  Connolly 


Mr.  M.  S.  Lehan 
Mr.  W.  Bourke 


Mr.  T.  J.  McAuliffe,  A.  B. 

Mr.  C.  J.  Comyns 

Mr.  M.  W.  O'Connell,  S.  B. 


Mr.  R.  M.  Barry 
Mr.  F.  P.  Haynes,  S.  B. 
Mr.  J.  A.  Lenahan,  S.  B. 
Mr.  Edw.  J.  Banning,  S.  B. 

Mr.  D.  M.  Burnett,  S.  B. 
Mr.  A.  Thornton 
Mr.  Pedro  Espina 
Mr.  Thos.  Hickey,  S.  B. 

Mr.  George  Wood 


'89 


'90 


91 


'92 


93 


'94 


'95 


Mr.  C.  Lastreto,  A.  M. 
Mr.  C.  Fay 


Mr.  S.  Haskins,  A.  M. 
Mr.  V.  Tobin 
Mr.  A.  R.  Reid 


Mr.  J.  Dwyer 

Mr.  W.  Sweigert,  A.  B. 

Mr.  M.  S.  Lehan 
Mr.  A.  Thornton 
Mr.  J.  Leddy,  A.  B. 


Mr.  T.  J.  McAuliffe,  A.  B. 
Mr.  C.  J.  Comyns 
Mr.  D.  J.  McCann 


Mr.  J.  Gallagher,  S.  B. 
Mr.  T.  Killian 


Mr.  D.  M.  Burnett,  S.  B. 
Mr.  W.  Bourke 
Mr.  A.  Thornton 
Mr.  E.  J.  Banning 


'96 


'97 


Mi;.  M.  W.  O'Connell,  S.  B. 


Mr.  John  L.  Mulrenin,  A.  B.  Mr.  Richard  M.  Barry 

Mr.  C.  B.  Newton  Mr.  John  A.  Lenahan 


ST.    IGNATIUS    CHURCH    AND    COLLEGE         389 

Secular  Professors   in  St.   Ignatius  College.— Continued. 

'98 

Appointed  Resigned 

Mr.  Francis  I.  Fenton,  A.  B.  Mr.  Fred.  H.  Jung,  S.  M. 

'99 

Mr.  Percy  R.  Hennessy,  A.  B.  Mr.  Francis  P.  Haynes,  S.  B. 

1900 
Mr.  Edward  F.  O'Day,  A.  B.  Mr.  C.  R.  Newton 

Mr.  Percy  R.  Hennessy,  A.  B. 

'01 

Mr.  Wm.  J.  Kieferdorf,  A.  B.  Mr.  George  A.  Connolly 

Mr.  Wm.  T.  Ross,  A.  M.  Mr.  Thos.  W.  Hickey,  S.  B. 

Mr.  Edward  F.  O'Day,  A.  B. 

'02 
Mr.  Francis  I.  Barrett,  A.  B. 

'03 
Mr.  Owen  E.  McCann,  A.  B.  Mr.  Francis  L.  Fenton,  A.  B. 

Mr.  John  L.  Mulrenin,  A.  B. 
Mr.  Francis  I.  Barrett,  A.  B. 

'04 
Mr.  Joseph  T.  Raphael 
Mr.  Edward  L.  Kirk 

'OS 

Other  professors  there  have  been  who  have  taught  for  a 
short  time  only,  and  hence  their  names  have  not  appeared  in 
the  college  catalogues. 


LJ 


:wu. 


AUG  1 1  1954 


I 


>*J&i 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

0035518642 


932.5 


R479 


AUTHOR 

Riordan 


CALL    NUMBER 

932.5 
R479 

VOL. 

YEAR 

COPY 

The  first  half  century  of  St. 


AUG  1 1  1954 


BR|TTT£0Q  m 

fhi      n 


.w 


